Lightbridge Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

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Provided by Quartr
August 6, 2026

Key Takeaways

  • Positive Sentiment: Lightbridge removed its first batch of fuel material samples from Idaho National Laboratory’s Advanced Test Reactor; post-irradiation examination is expected to begin later this year and should provide data supporting fuel-performance models and future NRC licensing.
  • Positive Sentiment: The company partnered with Studsvik Scandpower to integrate Lightbridge Fuel into the widely used CMS5 core-management software, which could make the design more practical for utilities and support regulatory review.
  • Neutral Sentiment: Lightbridge advanced commercialization planning through a feasibility study for a commercial-scale fuel facility and a non-binding memorandum with Quadrant Nuclear Industries concerning potential future HALU supply; neither initiative includes firm pricing, volumes, or purchase commitments.
  • Negative Sentiment: First-half net loss widened to $12.1 million from $8.3 million, while R&D and general and administrative expenses increased substantially as the company expanded its staff and development activities. The company held $237.5 million in cash at June 30 after raising $44.4 million through its ATM share issuance, creating potential dilution.
AI Generated. May Contain Errors.
Earnings Conference Call
Lightbridge Q2 2026
00:00 / 00:00

There are 7 speakers on the call.

Operator

Thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Lightbridge Corporation business update and second quarter 2026 conference call. Please note that today's call is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce Matthew Abenante, Director of Investor Relations for Lightbridge Corporation.

Speaker 1

Thank you, Grace. Thank you all for joining us today. Our earnings press release was distributed yesterday and is available on the Investor Relations page of the Lightbridge website at www.ltbridge.com. Joining us on the call today is Seth Grae, Chief Executive Officer, along with Andrey Mushakov, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Scott Holcombe, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Larry Goldman, Chief Financial Officer, and Leslie Mills, Controller. I want to remind our listeners that any statements on this call that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. Today's presentation includes forward-looking statements about the company's competitive position and product and service offerings. During today's call, words such as "expect," "anticipate," "believe," and "intend" will be used in our discussion of future goals and events.

Speaker 1

This presentation is based on current expectations and involves certain risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ significantly from such statements. These and other risks are set forth in more detail in Lightbridge's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Lightbridge does not assume any obligation to update or revise any such forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new developments or otherwise. With that, I would like to turn the call over to our first speaker, Seth Grae, Chief Executive Officer of Lightbridge. Hello, Seth.

Operator

Please stand by. Thank you for standing by. One moment till we resume our call.

Speaker 1

Oh, no. They're going to call you. They're going to call you. Just stand by. Bye.

Operator

Thank you for standing by. One moment as we resume.

Speaker 2

Hello?

Speaker 3

Hey, Seth.

Speaker 2

Yeah.

Speaker 3

You want me to put you on speaker?

Speaker 2

Hello?

Operator

Hi, Seth. We hear you. This is Grace, the host. You can please proceed.

Speaker 2

I'm sorry. We never had a problem like this before. These calls are live, thank you for holding on through technical difficulties here. I appreciate it. I'll just start again. I'll say thank you, Matt, and thank you all for joining us to discuss Lightbridge's second quarter and first half 2026 business update. In May, the initial batch of our fuel material samples was removed from the Advanced Test Reactor at Idaho National Laboratory. Those samples are cooling now, and we expect post-irradiation examination to begin later this year. The examination will give us our first measured material property data under initial burnup conditions, data generated from our own fuel samples in the world's most powerful test reactor. That data will feed directly into the fuel performance models and the licensing documentation we will submit to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Speaker 2

Alongside that milestone, we advanced in other key areas in the first half of 2026. We integrated the Lightbridge Fuel design into the commercial core management software that many utilities already use through a partnership with Studsvik Scandpower. We took additional steps towards securing a domestic supply of enriched fuel material for commercial deployment through a memorandum of understanding with Quadrant Nuclear Industries. I will now turn the call over to Andrey Mushakov, Executive Vice President, and as of today, congratulations, Chief Operating Officer, to walk through the program highlights in detail. Andrey.

Speaker 3

Thank you, Seth. As Seth mentioned, we continue to make progress across our fuel development and qualification activities. I want to update you on our fuel fabrication planning activities. In the second quarter of this year, we issued a task order to Momentum Technology under our MAISTY services agreement to conduct feasibility and site selection studies and develop a conceptual design for a standalone Lightbridge expandable fuel facility that would have the capability to manufacture Lightbridge Fuel assemblies at commercial scale. We're separately evaluating the establishment of a pilot-scale fuel fabrication capability to support the future manufacture of fleet test assemblies. Separately, we continue to build our organization at Lightbridge. We have added in-house staff during the second quarter across our core technical disciplines and review team expansion as an ongoing effort through the balance of this year and into 2027 and 2028.

Speaker 3

Our approach remains disciplined and aligned with our program needs so that we attract top talent and build a world-class team while maintaining capital efficiency. With that, I'll turn the call over to Scott.

Speaker 4

Thank you, Andrey. I will start with the sample removal at the Advanced Test Reactor, which is the milestone Seth opened with. On May the 6th, the first batch of our fuel material samples was removed from the ATR. 24 Lightbridge personnel were on site for it, including our full-time fuel engineering team and senior management. The following day, we met with the Idaho National Laboratory personnel leading the project, including Laboratory Director John Wagner and Associate Laboratory Director Jess Gehin to review progress and the path forward across the multiple Lightbridge projects underway at the laboratory. These samples were irradiated under the Fission Accelerated Steady-state Testing methods, or FAST, an accelerated irradiation technique that uses highly enriched uranium to reach high burnup conditions faster than conventional test methods.

Speaker 4

FAST was conceived and developed at Idaho National Laboratory. Boone Beausoleil, our Director of Materials, played a key role on the INL team that originated the concept and developed the underlying methodology during his prior tenure there. The samples are now cooling down, a process that takes several months, and post-irradiation examination is expected to begin later this year. The examination will collect data on fundamental material properties at various burnup levels. Practically, this is what is required to validate and verify our fuel performance models. The framework Kyle Perrin presented at PMS 2026 earlier this year was built on measured data from our own coupon samples. The post-irradiation examination data extends that framework into the burnup regime that matters for commercial fuel cycle and becomes part of the basis of our licensing work.

Speaker 4

The second item I want to cover is our partnership with Studsvik Scandpower, announced in May. Together, we're developing an extension of the Studsvik CMS5 core management suite to model the Lightbridge Fuel design. The significance here is practical. Utilities plan their cores, load their fuel, and manage their fuel cycles using established software. Studsvik has over 75 years of experience in nuclear technology, employs approximately 540 people across seven countries, and its core monitoring and fuel optimization software is already adopted by customers worldwide. A utility evaluating Lightbridge Fuel needs to be able to model it in the tools its engineers already operate, and its regulator needs to see results from codes with an established pedigree. This partnership puts our fuel inside that ecosystem rather than asking the industry to adopt something bespoke, and it supports our licensing work in parallel. Back to you, Seth.

Speaker 2

Well, thank you very much, Scott, and congratulations to Scott for as of today, being Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer. In June, I represented Lightbridge at the White House for the launch of UPRISE, the Utility Power Reactor Incremental Scaling Effort at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. UPRISE is a U.S. Department of Energy initiative targeting approximately 5 gigawatts of additional nuclear capacity from reactors that are already operating. It advances the executive orders the president issued in May of last year, directing the department to facilitate uprates across the existing fleet. That initiative recognizes something straightforward. The fastest and least expensive nuclear-generated megawatts this country can add to the grid are the ones we will draw from reactors that are already operating. Lightbridge Fuel is being designed to deliver among the largest power uprates available to the operating pressurized water reactor fleet.

Speaker 2

The federal government has now put an explicit target on the commercial pathway we have been building toward for years. To make sure we are building toward what utilities actually need, we launched a reconstituted Nuclear Utility Fuel Advisory Board in June. The board provides us with direct input from utility industry representatives on fuel development priorities, licensing considerations, deployment strategies, operational requirements, and commercialization planning. I want to be clear that the board serves in an advisory capacity only and does not constitute a commitment by any participant to purchase, license, or deploy our fuel. What it does is put experts from companies that operate nuclear power plants in the room while decisions are still being made, rather than after decisions are made. Commercial deployment also requires fuel material, and that supply must be arranged for years in advance.

Speaker 2

In July, we took steps in that direction by signing a memorandum of understanding with Quadrant Nuclear Industries, QNI, to establish a framework for collaboration on the long-term supply of high-assay, low-enriched uranium, HALU. Under the MoU, we will engage in discussions regarding potential supply and long-term offtake of HALU produced at QNI's planned Vanguard facility at Idaho National Laboratory, which is designed to produce up to 18 metric tons of HALU annually when it reaches full capacity. The companies intend to collaborate on fuel supply planning, technical interface requirements, commercial structuring, regulatory coordination, and logistics. The MoU is non-binding and does not establish pricing, quantity, or exclusivity commitments. Any binding terms would be subject to a definitive agreement. It is the beginning of that work and beginning it now is the point.

Speaker 2

We continue to believe the prospects for growth in nuclear power are the strongest they have ever been. There are approximately 440 operating power reactors worldwide today. To triple nuclear power globally and quadruple it in the U.S. by 2050, the world will need more power from reactors already operating, not only from those still to be built. Lightbridge Fuel is designed to deliver exactly that within the same sized cores of new reactors and plants that exist today with even greater efficiency. One final note to our shareholders. Earlier this week, Lightbridge was added to the Solactive Global Uranium & Nuclear Components Total Return Index, the benchmark tracked by the Global X Uranium ETF, broadening the investor base with exposure to the nuclear supply chain. I'll now turn the call over to Larry Goldman, Chief Financial Officer, for a summary of the company's results. Larry?

Speaker 5

Thank you, Seth, and good afternoon, everyone. I'd like to remind listeners that our detailed financial results are included in our earnings release issued yesterday after market close and in our Form 10-Q that will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission this week. Those materials are available on the investor relations section of the Lightbridge Corporation website and on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission website. I encourage everyone to review those documents for a full discussion of our financial statements, risk factors, and related disclosures. As of June 30, 2026, we held approximately $237.5 million in cash and cash equivalents compared to approximately $201.9 million at December 31, 2025. This positions us with substantial financial resources, sufficient to fund our operations for an extended period of time.

Speaker 5

Looking at our cash flows for the first half of 2026, we used approximately $8.3 million in operations, reflecting the continued investment in our fuel development program and expanded team. On the financing side, we generated approximately $43.9 million in net cash, a decrease of $19.6 million from the $63.5 million we raised from financing activities for the same period last year. This year's financing activities were driven by $44.4 million in net proceeds from the issuance of approximately 3.8 million shares of common stock under our at-the-market or ATM facility, partially offset by $0.5 million of tax withholding payments on the vesting of equity awards. We continue to evaluate funding opportunities to support our long-term fuel development activities.

Speaker 5

These include potential strategic partnerships, government grants and contracts, and as appropriate, additional capital market transactions. Our capital allocation strategy remains disciplined and milestone driven. We direct resources toward the activities that advance our fuel towards regulatory licensing and commercialization, expansion of our in-house team, radiation testing, post-irradiation examination, computational infrastructure, and safety analysis development, while maintaining a strong balance sheet that gives us flexibility to pursue opportunities as they arise. I will now turn the call over to Leslie Mills, our controller, who will review our P&L for the first half of 2026. Leslie?

Speaker 6

Thank you, Larry. Net loss was $12.1 million for the first half of 2026, compared to $8.3 million for the first half of 2025. Total R&D expenses amounted to $7.3 million for the six months ended June 30, 2026, compared to $3.3 million for the six months ended June 30, 2025, an increase of $4 million. The increase was primarily due to a $2.4 million increase in employee compensation and stock-based compensation, reflecting an increase in new hires, increased employee bonuses, and several new stock-based awards, including performance stock awards. A $0.7 million increase in IT expenses, which included additional computer hardware, software, and operating expenses related to the company's high-performance computer.

Speaker 6

A $0.4 million increase in R&D 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 we entered into additional agreement modifications and new PTSs. Total stock-based compensation included in research and development expenses was $1.1 million and $0.4 million for the six months ended June 30, 2026 and 2025 respectively. Total G&A expenses were $8 million for the six months ended June 30, 2026, compared to $6 million for the six months ended June 30, 2025. The $2 million increase was primarily due to a $1.5 million increase in employee compensation and stock-based compensation for employees, contractors, and directors, reflecting new hires, increased bonuses, and several new stock-based awards, including performance stock awards.

Speaker 6

Total stock-based compensation included in G&A expenses was $2.8 million and $1.6 million for the six months ended June 30, 2026, and June 30, 2025 respectively. Total other income was $3.2 million for the six months ended June 30, 2026, compared to $1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2025. Other income consisted of interest income earned from treasury bills and our bank savings account, driven by higher average cash balances. Back to you, Seth.

Speaker 2

Thank you, Leslie. No questions have been submitted for the call. I want to thank everyone for participating in today's call and standing by during our bit of technical difficulties with the phone. We appreciate the continued support of our shareholders and the dedication of our growing team and partners. We look forward to updating you on our progress in the coming quarters. In the meantime, you can reach us at ir@ltbridge.com. Stay safe and well. Goodbye.

Operator

Thank you for your participation in today's conference. This does conclude the program. You may now disconnect.

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