Altman-backed nuclear tech firm Oklo jumps 23% on steel supply deal

Shares of Oklo, which is developing compact nuclear power plants, jumped 23% on Friday. The company’s latest quarterly results beat Wall Street expectations, but it was an agreement with steel component manufacturer U.S. Forged Rings that drove the rally, according to Barron’s. Analysts see further upside for the stock.

Oklo shares rose almost 23% on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday, closing at $23.55 apiece. Oklo reported third-quarter revenue of $1.86 million, versus no revenue in the July-September period of 2025, and a loss of $0.22 per share. Wall Street had expected revenue of $1 million and a loss of $0.27 per share.

Oklo has yet to sell electricity from its reactors, and its flagship Aurora nuclear reactor is due to come online in 2028 at the earliest. Investors were more encouraged by the company’s progress on its reactors than by the quarterly results, Barron’s reports.

First, Oklo moved ahead with construction of its first power plant in Idaho, beginning to install structural steel. Second, on the day it released its results, Oklo announced an agreement with U.S. Forged Rings covering critical steel components for its future reactors. The agreement is intended to head off a potential manufacturing bottleneck by reserving capacity, Oklo stated in a press release. Initial deliveries are scheduled for 2030, with capacity reserved through 2035 and options to expand it.

Oklo confirmed in its quarterly report that it is developing a nuclear power campus in Ohio with up to 1.2 gigawatts of capacity to supply data centers operated by Meta Barron’s writes. The management expects the first phase to come online in 2030 at the earliest. Oklo has more than $3 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable debt securities, which gives it enough resources to continue development.

“Oklo is building a differentiated platform that can deliver on the promise of advanced nuclear power,” Nate Pendleton, vice president of sales and trading at Texas Capital, said, as quoted by Barron’s.

Truist analysts also pointed to progress in laying the groundwork for future deployments of small nuclear reactors, while noting that Oklo still has substantial work ahead to deliver on its plans.

Oklo has 13 “buy” or equivalent ratings from Wall Street analysts, along with nine “hold” ratings and one “sell.” The average target price of $53.95 per share implies 129% upside from the Friday close.

Jacob DeWitte and Caroline Cochran founded Oklo in 2013. They chose to focus on small nuclear reactors because the large reactors that dominate the industry can stretch power plant construction timelines into decades, MIT News wrote years ago.  

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was one of Oklo’s first major investors. He became chair of the board in 2015 and helped the company go public in 2024 through a merger with his special purpose acquisition company. He stepped down as chair in April 2025, and Cochran “alluded to the potential for collaboration with OpenAI,” Barron’s reported.