Fermi Inc. hits $3.42, a 52-week low, as an NRC draft backs four reactors its $62.5 million cannot fund
The first accelerated, applicant-written environmental review in NRC history preliminarily backs the combined license for Fermi's four-reactor, 17 GW Project Matador. The same session printed a 52-week low, with the filings pricing the build at $70 billion to $90 billion against $62.5 million of quarter-end cash.
Vincent Jiang · 3 min read
The EIS opens for comment the day the stock hits $3.42
Two verdicts on Project Matador landed in one session on October 9 12. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission published a draft environmental impact statement for Fermi's four planned AP1000 reactors and opened 45 days of public comment 1. Fermi Inc.−6.05% — Fermi Inc., down 6.05 percent today (FRMI) fell 6.28% to $3.42, a 52-week low 2, leaving a company founded in January 2025 and listed at a reported $15 billion valuation on a $682 million raise 4 worth $2.70 billion 3.
A preliminary yes for a 17 GW campus
The draft EIS carries a preliminary recommendation in favor of issuing the combined operating license, pending the safety review, for the Texas Tech University campus that has grown from 11 GW, 4.4 of them nuclear, toward 17 GW 14. It was the first draft EIS finished under an accelerated NEPA pilot in which the applicant wrote the document under NRC supervision 1. The Federal Register notice ran on October 9; comments close November 23 under docket NRC-2026-0100, and a final EIS is targeted for December 51.
The binding lease is not binding yet
Fermi's first binding customer lease, the August deal with AI cloud operator TensorWave for 222 MW with rights up to 650 MW 14, was signed on August 9 and is still not effective. Its closing slipped from September 30 to October 31 while Fermi negotiates a guaranty from an unnamed investment-grade counterparty, and the closing conditions also include project-level financing sufficient to fund construction 67. The $6.5 billion, 15-year headline is contracted revenue only if both arrive 7.
The balance sheet funds almost none of it
At its most recent quarter Fermi reported $62.54 million of cash against $576.39 million of debt and a $737.89 million trailing net loss 3. The second-quarter 10-Q still carries going-concern language and prices the full build at $70 billion to $90 billion 6. That gap is the who-pays: the money cannot come from this balance sheet, so it must come from new equity sold into a tape that has nearly halved the company since June, and the dilution lands on today's holders 36.
Fermi holds 11 cents of cash for every dollar of debt
Data
| Value | |
|---|---|
| Cash | $62.54M |
| Total debt | $576.39M |
| Trailing net loss | $737.89M |
Two contract tests sit inside the quarter. On November 10 the $500 million MUFG turbine facility steps quarterly principal from 5% to 10% of the $444.9 million drawn unless a 400 MW deal is signed 6. The Texas Tech ground lease demands a notice to proceed by December 31 backed by a 200 MW first tenant and phase-one financing 6. TensorWave clears the second bar and misses the first 6.
Fermi's market value has nearly halved since June 30
Data
| Market cap | |
|---|---|
| 31 Dec 2025 | $4.29B |
| 31 Mar 2026 | $3.21B |
| 30 Jun 2026 | $5.12B |
| 9 Oct 2026 | $2.7B |
Turbines are on the ground; revenue is not
The first Siemens gas turbines reached the site near Amarillo in September, and more than $1.5 billion is invested with roughly 6 GW permitted 64. Revenue starts only when finished halls are delivered to TensorWave, in phases from late 2027 into the first quarter of 2028 6.
A founder in court, a vote on October 30
A Texas business court denied every emergency request from co-founder Toby Neugebauer on September 16, holding that state law permits the bylaw amendments he challenged 8. SEC filings say Fermi terminated him for cause 1. His amended suit against three directors goes on, and shareholders vote at the October 30 annual meeting on his call for an independent review, with his stake near 22% 96.
Six dates decide the fourth quarter
Blue Energy, racing the same Texas clock, filed the first part of its construction permit for five BWRX-300s at the Port of Victoria on September 16 1. For Fermi the calendar runs: annual meeting October 30, lease close October 31, MUFG test November 10, comments close November 23, final EIS in December, Texas Tech deadline December 31 61. Management wrote that its plans alleviate the going-concern doubt 6. The NRC has answered the environmental question. Nobody has answered the financing one.
Deepdive
AI-generated from this story and its cited sources. Not investment advice.
