Core Insights - NuScale Power Corporation (SMR) is a leading firm in the nuclear energy sector, while Oklo Inc. (OKLO) is an emerging player with significant growth, having increased by 701.5% over the past year compared to SMR's 413.3% rise [1] Regulatory Readiness - NuScale Power has received approval from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for its reactor design, which is crucial for construction and deployment, a process that took over a decade and concluded in 2020 [4] - Oklo's business model heavily relies on U.S. government support, requiring favorable policies and NRC approval, which is currently in a slow and complex pre-application stage [5] Commercial Readiness - NuScale's reactor design is approved, targeting industries such as data centers, hydrogen production, and water desalination, with established customer interest and readiness for construction [7][8] - Oklo, while aiming for similar markets, is still in early development stages and has not yet built or delivered any power plants, with no revenues reported as of early 2025 [9] Valuation and Investor Sentiment - Despite its lack of earnings, Oklo is trading at a high price-to-book (P/B) ratio of 36.79, indicating investor optimism about its future potential, compared to NuScale's P/B of 26.30 [10] - Oklo's current valuation does not align with its fundamentals, leading to a recommendation against investment, while NuScale is suggested to be held due to lower execution risk and better near-term visibility [11][14]

Company Overview - Oklo Inc. (OKLO) is currently trading at a trailing 12-month price-to-book (P/B) ratio of 31.77x, significantly higher than the industry average of 5.58x and competitors like Talen Energy Corporation (TLN) at 12.09x and Constellation Energy Corporation (CEG) at 7.47x [1][4][8] Financial Performance - As of early 2025, Oklo reported no revenues despite years of development, with an operating loss of $17.9 million and a cash outflow of $12.2 million from operating activities during the March quarter, indicating high operational costs [4][5] - The company has not yet brought a commercial product to market, with its first nuclear plant expected to operate only by late 2027 or early 2028 [4][5] Regulatory Environment - Oklo's business model heavily relies on U.S. government support, requiring favorable policies, contracts from the Department of Defense (DOD), and approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) [5] - The NRC's approval process is known to be slow and complex, and Oklo is still in the early pre-application stage for its first plant, indicating a long path ahead before construction or power generation can commence [5] Market Sentiment - Despite the lack of current revenue and commercial products, Oklo's stock has surged 551% over the past year, outperforming the industry's composite growth of 56.2%, driven by investor optimism regarding the future operation of its Aurora plant [6][8] - The stock's high valuation appears to be based on future potential rather than current business fundamentals, as there have been no earnings estimate revisions for 2025 [12] Competitive Landscape - In contrast to Oklo, Talen Energy is generating revenues through its partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS), supplying electricity to AWS data centers [10] - Constellation Energy is expanding its nuclear offerings to meet the growing demand for power from AI and cloud computing, positioning its nuclear fleet as a stable long-term solution for hyperscale data centers [11]