Lightbridge Widens Third-Quarter Loss as Fuel Spending Rises

The Tip Desk · November 2, 2026 · 3 min read

The nuclear fuel developer posted an $8.3 million net loss, or 23 cents a share, as research and development costs more than doubled from a year earlier.

Lightbridge Corporation (LTBR), a nuclear fuel technology company developing Lightbridge Fuel for existing and new reactors, reported a net loss of $8.3 million, or $(0.23) a share, for the three months ended September 30, 2026, compared with a net loss of $4.1 million, or $(0.16) a share, a year earlier.

The company generated no revenue in the quarter. Operating expenses more than doubled, to $10.3 million from $5.2 million, as research and development spending rose to $5.3 million from $2.0 million. General and administrative expenses were $5.0 million.

The $3.3 million increase in R&D reflected a $1.9 million rise in employee compensation and stock-based compensation from new hires, higher bonuses, and new awards; a $1.0 million increase in information-technology costs, primarily software and operating costs for the company’s high-performance computer; and a $0.4 million increase in Idaho National Laboratory project costs as the company entered additional agreement modifications and new project task statements.

G&A rose $1.8 million, which the company attributed to a $0.9 million increase in employee compensation and stock-based compensation, a $0.7 million increase in professional and consulting services, and a $0.2 million increase in other administrative costs.

Other income was $2.0 million, consisting of interest earned on higher cash balances invested primarily in U.S. Treasury bills.

Cash and cash equivalents totaled $236.7 million at September 30, 2026, up $34.8 million from $201.9 million at December 31, 2025. Working capital was approximately $234.2 million. Cash equivalents consisted primarily of U.S. Treasury instruments with maturities of 30 to 90 days.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2026, net cash used in operating activities was $13.2 million, compared with $8.1 million a year earlier, reflecting higher R&D and G&A spending, partially offset by higher interest income. Net cash provided by financing activities was $48.1 million.

The company sold about 4.3 million shares under its at-the-market program in the nine months for net proceeds of $48.9 million, including 579,685 shares for $4.5 million in the third quarter. About $91.4 million remained available under the $150 million ATM program.

In August 2026, Lightbridge was selected for the DOE Nuclear Energy Launch Pad INL program, administered by DOE’s National Reactor Innovation Center at Idaho National Laboratory. The company said the selection provides an accelerated pathway toward DOE authorization to design, build, and operate the Lightbridge Fuel Pilot Factory, also called SHED, at INL to manufacture lead test assemblies for demonstration in U.S. commercial power reactors. Authorization remains subject to additional DOE/INL agreements, reviews, and authorizations.

Also in August, the company entered Project Task Statement No. 2 under its CRADA with Battelle Energy Alliance to cover experimental design, materials, assembly, irradiation, shipment, and disposition of enriched uranium-zirconium fuel rodlets with cladding in cylindrical and multi-lobe geometries in the Advanced Test Reactor loop. Post-irradiation examination of the first fuel coupon samples, discharged from the ATR in May 2026, was underway.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Seth Grae said the Launch Pad selection can help accelerate the commercialization plan and that the loop irradiation agreement will enable testing of clad rodlets under conditions similar to commercial pressurized water reactors.

In September 2026, the Japan Patent Office issued a notice of allowance for the company’s multi-zone fuel element patent application, with allowed claims covering the fuel element design, a fuel assembly containing it, and an additive manufacturing method for producing it.