Lightbridge Removes First Irradiated Fuel Samples From Reactor

The Tip Desk · August 5, 2026 · 4 min read

Cash and cash equivalents were $237.5 million at June 30, 2026, as Lightbridge posted a $5.8 million net loss for the quarter.

Lightbridge Corporation (LTBR), an advanced nuclear fuel technology company, said its fuel development work at Idaho National Laboratory produced its first irradiated material for examination in the first half of 2026. In May, the first batch of fuel material samples was removed from the Advanced Test Reactor, the company said, and those samples are now cooling ahead of post-irradiation examination, which the company expects to begin later this year.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Seth Grae said the examination will produce the company’s first material property data under high burn-up conditions, while irradiation of the remaining samples continues.

The company recorded no revenue for the three months ended June 30, 2026, matching the year-ago quarter. Net loss widened to $5.8 million, or $0.18 a share, from $3.5 million, or $0.16 a share, a year earlier.

Research and development expenses rose to $4.0 million in the quarter from $1.6 million a year earlier. The company said the $2.4 million increase was primarily due to a $1.4 million rise in employee compensation and stock-based compensation, a $0.4 million increase in project development costs related to cladding, critical heat flux testing, safety analysis, and feasibility studies, and a $0.2 million increase in INL project labor costs as it entered additional agreement modifications and new project task statements.

General and administrative expenses were $3.7 million, compared with $2.5 million a year earlier. The company attributed the $1.2 million increase primarily to a $0.9 million rise in employee compensation and stock-based compensation for employees, contractors, and directors.

During the second quarter, Lightbridge recorded a $0.7 million reversal of previously recognized stock-based compensation related to performance-based awards after the related performance condition was determined to no longer be probable of achievement. Of that amount, $0.5 million reduced general and administrative expense and $0.2 million reduced research and development expense.

Total other income was $1.9 million, compared with $0.6 million a year earlier. The company said the income consisted of interest earned from treasury bills and a bank savings account, driven by higher average cash balances.

Cash and cash equivalents were $237.5 million at June 30, 2026, up $35.6 million from $201.9 million at December 31, 2025. Working capital was approximately $236.4 million.

For the six months ended June 30, 2026, cash used in operating activities was $8.3 million, an increase of $2.7 million from $5.6 million a year earlier. The company said the increase was primarily due to higher cash expenditures on research and development and general and administrative expenses, partially offset by higher interest income reflecting increased average cash balances from proceeds received through its at-the-market equity offering program.

Cash provided by financing activities for the six months was $43.9 million, a decrease of $19.6 million from $63.5 million a year earlier. The company said the decrease was primarily due to an $18.7 million drop in net proceeds from issuance of common stock under the ATM program. It sold an aggregate of 3.8 million shares in the six months ended June 30, 2026, compared with 6.2 million shares in the six months ended June 30, 2025.

Net loss for the six months ended June 30, 2026 was $12.1 million, compared with $8.3 million a year earlier. Six-month research and development expenses were $7.3 million, up $4.0 million from $3.3 million, including a $0.7 million increase in IT expenses related to the company’s high-performance computer. Six-month general and administrative expenses were $8.0 million. Six-month other income was $3.2 million.

In May, Lightbridge partnered with Studsvik Scandpower to develop an extension of the Studsvik CMS5 Core Management Suite to model the new Lightbridge Fuel design, the company said. In June, Grae represented Lightbridge at the White House launch of UPRISE, a Department of Energy initiative targeting approximately 5 GW of end capacity drawn from reactors already operating.

The company said it received notices of allowance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office covering its multi-lobed fuel assembly for pressurized heavy water reactors, and from the European Patent Office covering its multi-zone fuel element and its additive manufacturing method across 39 contracting states.

Since quarter-end, Lightbridge signed a memorandum of understanding with Quadrant Nuclear Industries to establish a framework for long-term HALEU supply from its planned Vanguard facility at Idaho National Laboratory. The company also said it was added to the Solactive Global Uranium & Nuclear Components Total Return Index, the benchmark tracked by the Global X Uranium ETF.