---
title: "Centrus begins commercial HALEU sales as revenue falls 26% and contingent fuel orders reach $5.4 billion"
description: "The output runs on rights the Department of Energy granted and can revisit, even as DOE's own purchases shrink. Centrus enters its December 7 investor day with about $2.2 billion of cash, a widening gross loss, and a $5.4 billion order book that is mostly contingent and mostly conventional reactor fuel."
publisher: "The Inference"
section: "Power"
published: 2026-11-13T15:02:48.744Z
modified: 2026-11-13T15:02:48.744Z
canonical: https://theinference.org/article/centrus-begins-commercial-haleu-sales-as-revenue-falls-26-and-contingent-fuel-orders-reach-5-4-billion
language: en
keywords: "Centrus Energy, HALEU, Nuclear Fuel, Uranium Enrichment, Oklo"
---

# Centrus begins commercial HALEU sales as revenue falls 26% and contingent fuel orders reach $5.4 billion

> The output runs on rights the Department of Energy granted and can revisit, even as DOE's own purchases shrink. Centrus enters its December 7 investor day with about $2.2 billion of cash, a widening gross loss, and a $5.4 billion order book that is mostly contingent and mostly conventional reactor fuel.

[Centrus Energy](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/centrus-energy) (NYSE: LEU) told investors on November 5 that its 16-centrifuge cascade in Piketon, Ohio, is now enriching high-assay low-enriched uranium, or HALEU, the fuel for coming small reactors, for commercial buyers rather than the Department of Energy [1][2]. The rights to sell that output were granted by DOE, and a longer-term arrangement for the machines is still being negotiated. [1][2]

## Customers commit $5.4 billion, contingent on milestones

The order book grew anyway. Contingent pledges to buy low-enriched uranium (LEU), the fuel today's reactors run on, and HALEU rose to $5.4 billion from $3 billion, inside a $7.0 billion backlog running to 2040. $5.1 billion sits under definitive agreements, though Centrus says such pledges tend to hinge on hitting operational milestones. [Oklo](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/oklo), the advanced-reactor developer, signed its piece on November 12: [multi-year HALEU contracts](https://www.aol.com/articles/oklo-centrus-secure-fuel-supply-123000000.html), prepaid in part with [Meta](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/meta)'s [advance payment for Oklo power](https://theinference.org/article/oklo-sends-meta-s-prepayments-to-centrus-for-fuel-due-in-2029-with-no-binding-meta-power-contract), enough fuel for up to five Aurora reactors with deliveries from 2029. [1][3][4]

## The quarter shrank while the government buyer stepped back

The quarter underneath was weak. [Revenue fell 26% to $55.5 million](https://finance.yahoo.com/energy/articles/centrus-reports-third-quarter-2026-213000409.html), the gross loss widened to $10.6 million from $4.3 million, and the adjusted loss of 46 cents a share missed the 13-cent consensus loss; the headline $31.6 million profit came from a $46.4 million noncash warrant gain. [1][5] Revenue from DOE's HALEU operating contract fell $10.2 million, the proposed fiscal 2027 DOE budget funds no further cascade work, DOE says it does not currently intend to exercise further options, and about $0.8 billion of backlog hangs on that contract. [1]

Customers and shareholders now carry the build: about $2.2 billion of cash, a September raise of roughly $500 million whose warrants could add $2 billion at $227 to $363 a share, against $350 million to $500 million of guided 2026 capital spending. [1][2]

*Chart: **Capital spending passed revenue for the first time in Q3 2026** Line chart of Centrus quarterly revenue and capital spending from Q3 2024 to Q3 2026, with capital spending crossing above revenue in Q3 2026.*

*Quarterly revenue and capital expenditure, millions of USD, as reported in Centrus SEC filings, Q3 2024 through Q3 2026. [7]*

## One centrifuge has shipped; 11,519 have not

Only one new centrifuge exists: [it left Oak Ridge, Tennessee on October 29](https://theinference.org/article/centrus-energy-shipped-its-first-new-centrifuge-early-the-560-million-buildout-faces-november-5-earnings), with 11,519 to go and first new capacity due in 2029. [6] In the September quarter, capital spending of $132 million passed quarterly revenue, the first time in at least nine quarters. [7]

![Rows of tall gas centrifuge casings filling a long hall at the Piketon, Ohio uranium enrichment plant in 1984](https://storage.googleapis.com/theinference-public/img/af50785a71aac1a2.jpg)

*A cascade of gas centrifuges at the Piketon, Ohio enrichment plant in 1984. Centrus now runs a 16-machine commercial cascade at the site, with 11,519 more machines still to be built and installed. (U.S. Department of Energy)*

*Chart: **Capital spending has outrun operating cash flow for four straight quarters** Column chart of Centrus quarterly capital spending against operating cash flow from Q4 2024 to Q3 2026; capital spending reaches $132 million in Q3 2026 while operating cash flow is $6 million.*

*Quarterly capital expenditure and cash from operations, USD billions, as reported in Centrus SEC filings, Q4 2024 through Q3 2026. Capital spending covers the Piketon cascade build, which management has guided to $350 million to $500 million for all of 2026. [9]*

## December 7 must price the 11,519-machine wait

Management calls the miss timing. Chief Executive Amir Vexler described "[a typical quarter-over-quarter shift in contractual mix](https://www.thelincolnianonline.com/2026/11/10/what-centrus-energy-leu-said-on-its-q3-earnings-call.html)"; all critical suppliers are signed, milestones landed two months early, the [$116 million Westerman buy of a casing maker](https://theinference.org/article/centrus-paid-116-million-for-its-centrifuge-casing-maker-as-the-stock-hit-a-52-week-low) closed after the quarter, and most of the LEU backlog serves reactors already running. [1][2][8]

Washington paid to prove the centrifuge; startup prepayments, some of it Meta's money, now pay for the factory. The December 7 investor day at Piketon prices that handoff: updated capital guidance, a durable DOE arrangement, and how fast 11,519 machines follow the first. [2][6]

## Takeaway

Centrus is selling HALEU to commercial buyers at last, but the September quarter shrank, the Department of Energy is stepping back, and most of its $5.4 billion order book is contingent conventional reactor fuel.

## Sources

1. [Centrus Energy press release, PR Newswire via Yahoo Finance, "Centrus Reports Third Quarter 2026 Results", 4 November 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/energy/articles/centrus-reports-third-quarter-2026-213000409.html)
2. [The Lincolnian Online, "What Centrus Energy (LEU) Said on Its Q3 Earnings Call", 10 November 2026](https://www.thelincolnianonline.com/2026/11/10/what-centrus-energy-leu-said-on-its-q3-earnings-call.html)
3. [Oklo Inc. press release, Business Wire via AOL, "Oklo, Centrus Secure Fuel Supply for Aurora Powerhouse Deployment in Ohio", 12 November 2026](https://www.aol.com/articles/oklo-centrus-secure-fuel-supply-123000000.html)
4. [Securities.io, "Oklo Finalizes Multi-Year HALEU Supply Contracts With Centrus", 12 November 2026](https://www.securities.io/oklo-finalizes-multi-year-haleu-supply-contracts-with-centrus/)
5. [24/7 Wall St., "Centrus Energy swings to a loss in Q3 2026, missing EPS badly", 4 November 2026](https://247wallst.com/cards/centrus-energy-q3-2026-earnings-leu-01m6m7spt5xjjztyrtph8ya99a)
6. [Morning Overview, "Centrus shipped the first new centrifuge built in Oak Ridge to expand its Ohio uranium enrichment plant", 6 November 2026](https://morningoverview.com/centrus-shipped-the-first-new-centrifuge-built-in-oak-ridge-to-expand-its-ohio-uranium-enrichment-plant/)
7. [Centrus Energy quarterly figures from its SEC filings (EDGAR), retrieved 13 November 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001065059)
8. [StockStory via Yahoo Finance, "The top 5 analyst questions from Centrus Energy's Q3 2026 earnings call", 8 November 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/top-5-analyst-questions-centrus-033336527.html)
9. [Centrus Energy, quarterly figures from its SEC filings, retrieved 13 November 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001065059)


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Centrus begins commercial HALEU sales as revenue falls 26% and contingent fuel orders reach $5.4 billion — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/centrus-begins-commercial-haleu-sales-as-revenue-falls-26-and-contingent-fuel-orders-reach-5-4-billion