Shares of Oklo (OKLO 0.81%) are skyrocketing on Wednesday. The nuclear power start-up's stock surged 16% as of 12:17 p.m. ET today and gained as much as 22.9% earlier in the day. The impressive jump comes as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite gained 0.1% and 0.6%, respectively.
The company, which is developing small-scale nuclear reactors, reported better-than-expected first-quarter results after the market closed on Tuesday.
First-quarter results exceed expectations
Oklo announced a first-quarter 2025 loss of $0.07 per share, a massive improvement from the $4.79 per share loss reported in the year-ago quarter. The result also beat Wall Street's expectations of a $0.10 loss.
The company also maintained its guidance for the 2025 full year. Management projected confidence; CEO Jacob DeWitte said on the earnings call: "We continue to see strong momentum across both the industry and the political landscape" and that "The current administration has made it abundantly clear that nuclear is a strategic priority."
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Oklo appears to be on track
Oklo confirmed that the company's first commercial small modular reactor (SMR) remains on schedule to come on line in late 2027 or early 2028. There is still a lot of time between now and then, and the timeline could be disrupted, but investors were pleased to hear, at least for now, that things are progressing as they should.
There was perhaps more anxiety that this wouldn't be the case, given the departure of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Earlier this year, he stepped down from his role as chairman of the company after a decade in the role.
The earnings report eased fears that his departure was due to problems at the company rather than a personal choice to focus on OpenAI or to more easily facilitate deals between the two companies. I think Oklo is one of the most promising SMR stocks on the market and is a good pick for investors with patience and a higher risk tolerance.
