--- title: "X-energy buys its first Xe-100 steel before the permit exists: the cash test lands November 12" description: "The first Xe-100 steam-generator tubing order landed November 4, four days after the NRC closed the safety review and eight days before a Q3 report that must show the cash to pay for long-lead steel." publisher: "The Inference" section: "Power" published: 2026-11-04T16:18:21.132Z modified: 2026-11-04T16:18:21.132Z canonical: https://theinference.org/article/x-energy-buys-its-first-xe-100-steel-before-the-permit-exists-the-cash-test-lands-november-12 language: en keywords: "Nuclear, Small Modular Reactors, Supply Chain, Stock Moves, Analyst Calls" --- # X-energy buys its first Xe-100 steel before the permit exists: the cash test lands November 12 > The first Xe-100 steam-generator tubing order landed November 4, four days after the NRC closed the safety review and eight days before a Q3 report that must show the cash to pay for long-lead steel. ## The first order buys steel before a permit exists [X-energy](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/x-energy), the [Amazon](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/amazon)-backed developer of the Xe-100 small modular reactor, [executed the program's first purchase order for steam generator tubing](https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/11/04/3395148/0/en/x-energy-alleima-doosan-enerbility-execute-first-order-for-nuclear-industrial-steam-generator-components.html) on November 4, 2026 [1]. Alleima, the Swedish specialty-steel maker with about 19 billion SEK of 2025 revenue, makes the tube [1][2]. Doosan Enerbility, the Korean manufacturer that has delivered 34 reactor vessels and 124 steam generators worldwide, bends it into helical coils that carry steam up to 565°C [1][2]. Those coils are a safety-significant, long-lead component for the first deployment: a four-unit, 800 MWt / 320 MWe plant that Long Mott Energy, a Dow subsidiary, wants to build at Seadrift, Texas under the Department of Energy's Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program [1][3]. The order follows a December 2025 agreement reserving Doosan capacity for 16 sets of Xe-100 pressure vessels and internal components [1]. Money is now committed to steel before a construction permit exists. ## The permit clock is running The order lands four days after the Nuclear Regulatory Commission [released its Final Safety Evaluation Report for the Seadrift plant](https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/articles/texas-smr-plant-moves-to-final-permitting-stage) on October 30, with the environmental review finished in May and both primary reviews complete [3]. The NRC says a construction-permit announcement is "soon" [3]. ## The sellers did not buy the story None of this stopped the slide. [XE fell 23% in a month](https://theinference.org/article/x-energy-trades-near-11-as-aep-says-its-12-reactor-indiana-project-has-no-final-decision-before-2030), [Oklo](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/oklo) 35% and NuScale 31%, against a 9% drop in the Nasdaq 100 [4]. The stock traded near $10.77 on November 4 [6][7]. Jim Cramer's verdict on Mad Money: "it's losing too much money" [4]. *Chart: **The SMR stocks fell three times harder than the Nasdaq 100** Bar chart of one-month share-price declines in early November 2026: Oklo 35 percent, NuScale 31 percent, X-energy 23 percent, and the Nasdaq 100 at 9 percent.* *One-month share-price decline through early November 2026, in percent, for X-energy, Oklo and NuScale, against the Nasdaq 100 index. Sources: Yahoo Finance/TIKR (3 Nov 2026). [4]* *Chart: **Analyst targets run up to five times the current share price** Horizontal bar chart of X-energy analyst price targets versus the current share price: Guggenheim $57, Morgan Stanley $34, consensus mean $31, UBS $18, Wedbush $17, and the XE price near $10.77 on November 4, 2026, with the current price highlighted.* *Price targets in US dollars per share, X-energy (Nasdaq: XE), as of November 3-4, 2026; the last bar is the traded price, not a target. Sources: Yahoo Finance/TIKR (3 Nov 2026); X-energy investor relations quote (4 Nov 2026). [4][7]* [Wedbush split the field on November 3](https://news.cision.com/alleima/r/alleima-reaches-milestone---receives-first-order-for-next-generation-nuclear-reactor-tubing,c4419542): Outperform on X-energy with a $17 target, Underperform on NuScale at $5, alongside Outperform calls on Oklo and NANO Nuclear [4][5]. The consensus target has slid from $48 at the May coverage start to $31 [4]. ## The cash test is the real deadline Analysts still model revenue stepping from $210 million this year to $860 million in 2027 [4]. Wedbush's own $17 works out to just under 9x forward sales, below the stock's 13x post-IPO average [4]. [A Seeking Alpha analysis in October counted a $1.9 billion cash position](https://seekingalpha.com/article/4951891-x-energy-stock-sell-off-has-changed-investment-case) [8]. That cash must now fund the burn and the steel. Watch two dates: the construction-permit announcement the NRC has promised [3], and November 12, when X-energy reports third-quarter results [7]. The permit decides whether the schedule holds. The cash report decides who pays for the wait. ## Takeaway X-energy committed money to long-lead steam-generator steel before a construction permit exists; the stock has slid with its SMR peers, and the November 12 Q3 report now tests whether the $1.9 billion cash pile covers the burn plus the steel. ## Sources 1. [GlobeNewswire, X-energy, Alleima, Doosan Enerbility Execute First Order for Nuclear-Industrial Steam Generator Components, 4 November 2026](https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/11/04/3395148/0/en/x-energy-alleima-doosan-enerbility-execute-first-order-for-nuclear-industrial-steam-generator-components.html) 2. [Cision News, Alleima reaches milestone: receives first order for next-generation nuclear reactor tubing, 4 November 2026](https://news.cision.com/alleima/r/alleima-reaches-milestone---receives-first-order-for-next-generation-nuclear-reactor-tubing,c4419542) 3. [World Nuclear News, Texas SMR plant moves to final permitting stage, 2 November 2026](https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/articles/texas-smr-plant-moves-to-final-permitting-stage) 4. [Yahoo Finance (TIKR), X-energy Lost 23% in a Month. Wedbush Sees 54% Upside From Here, 3 November 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/x-energy-lost-23-month-203639492.html) 5. [TokenPost, Wedbush Starts NuScale at Underperform, Rates Three Peers Outperform, 4 November 2026](https://www.tokenpost.com/news/insights/48257) 6. [Markets Insider, X-energy, Alleima, Doosan Enerbility Execute First Order for Nuclear-Industrial Steam Generator Components (with XE intraday quote), 4 November 2026](https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/x-energy-alleima-doosan-enerbility-execute-first-order-for-nuclear-industrial-steam-generator-components-1036714092) 7. [X-energy Investor Relations homepage, news list and XE quote, accessed 4 November 2026](https://investors.x-energy.com/) 8. [Seeking Alpha, X-Energy: The Sell-Off Has Changed The Investment Case, 5 October 2026 (summary; full text paywalled)](https://seekingalpha.com/article/4951891-x-energy-stock-sell-off-has-changed-investment-case) --- X-energy buys its first Xe-100 steel before the permit exists: the cash test lands November 12 — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/x-energy-buys-its-first-xe-100-steel-before-the-permit-exists-the-cash-test-lands-november-12