Backlog nearly doubles
Centrus Energy has grown its contingent low-enriched uranium and high-assay low-enriched uranium enrichment backlog to $5.4 billion, up from $3 billion, and secured an additional $500 million with potential future additions of $2 billion. The figures were disclosed in the company's third-quarter 2026 results and earnings call, and they represent the clearest market signal yet of contracted demand forming across commercial LEU, national security requirements and HALEU for next-generation reactors.
Centrus ended the quarter with $2.2 billion in unrestricted cash, a balance that underpins a capital programme comparable in scale to its entire annual revenue.
Hardware, not just plans
The company completed its first centrifuge at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, ahead of its year-end target, and shipped that first newly manufactured machine to support its planned uranium-enrichment expansion. The shipment was disclosed in an October 29 regulatory announcement, moving a multibillion-dollar investment programme into hardware delivery.
Centrus said completion of its first centrifuge proved that US centrifuge manufacturing is a reality and called it a historic milestone for Centrus and the United States.
The milestone covers manufacturing only. It does not establish how quickly Centrus can commission additional enrichment capacity or generate revenue, and it does not by itself set a manufacturing rate or installation schedule.
Piketon and the HALEU licence question
Centrus's strategic production project is the American Centrifuge Plant in Piketon, Ohio, where subsidiary American Centrifuge Operating operates under Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing to produce HALEU. The NRC has previously authorised uranium possession and introduction into the centrifuge cascade at Piketon, and Centrus has submitted a licence-amendment application for continued HALEU operations, an application that is not itself an approval.
Financials under strain
Third-quarter revenue was $55.5 million, down 26% from $74.9 million a year earlier. GAAP net income was $31.6 million versus $3.9 million, while the non-GAAP adjusted result was a net loss of $9.4 million compared with adjusted net income of $5.2 million in the prior-year quarter. Centrus reaffirmed 2026 guidance for revenue of $450 million to $500 million and capital spend of $350 million to $500 million, excluding the recent Westerman acquisition.
Westerman, one of Centrus's key suppliers, was acquired in a move the company said locked in all suppliers it deemed critical and is expected to drive growth through synergies and cost savings.
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