Centrus Energy Corp. trades on the NYSE as LEU. If you are researching leu stock, start with one structural fact: today the company mostly resells enriched uranium bought from other producers, chiefly Russia’s TENEX, while it builds its own HALEU and low-enriched uranium capacity at Piketon, Ohio. The company expects the first new capacity by 2029.
What HALEU Is and Why Advanced Reactors Are Stuck Without It
Natural uranium is 0.711 percent U-235 by weight, and existing reactors run on LEU enriched below 5 percent. HALEU sits between 5 and 20 percent U-235, and a number of advanced reactor designs now under development require it, per the 10-K. The filing lists the potential gains as better fuel utilization, fewer refueling outages, simpler reactor designs and reduced waste volumes.
It states the supply problem plainly: “the lack of HALEU supply is a major obstacle to the successful commercialization of these new reactors.”
Enrichment sits downstream of the mining and milling that uranium miners handle. Centrus describes itself in that 10-K as “the only company with a license from the NRC actively enriching up to 20% U235 assay HALEU and that is operating a small scaled HALEU production facility,” which is the company’s own characterization.
The $900 Million DOE Contract and What It Actually Buys
On January 5, 2026, DOE awarded Centrus subsidiary American Centrifuge Operating a $900.0 million task order, governed by an agreement signed July 1, 2026. It is firm fixed price, milestone-paid, requiring one metric ton of uranium (MTU) enriched as HALEU UF6 to 19.75 percent U-235 by July 2032. Two DOE options could add five MTU each at $17.0 million per MTU, which would take the total with options to $1.07 billion.
The older demonstration cascade finished its final 900 kilograms of HALEU UF6 in mid-June 2026, over 1,900 kilograms total. DOE’s proposed fiscal 2027 budget includes no further funding for that contract, about $0.8 billion of the Technical Solutions backlog, and DOE has told Centrus it does not currently intend to exercise the remaining options.
Who Actually Needs This Fuel: Oklo, X-energy, and the Backlog
On June 18, 2026, Centrus and Oklo, which plans to build, own, and operate its own reactors, signed a letter of intent for domestic HALEU to power up to five Aurora powerhouses, with deliveries scheduled to begin in 2029. The filing says it could include prepayments and anticipates a definitive agreement later.
On August 6, 2026, Centrus signed a definitive agreement with X-energy for LEU and HALEU tied to its initial Xe-100 small modular reactors and TRISO-X fuel line, with X-energy providing prepayments.
Total backlog reached $4.5 billion at June 30, 2026. The LEU segment holds about $3.7 billion of it. Roughly $3.0 billion of that is contingent on Piketon operational milestones, and $2.4 billion of the contingent amount sits under definitive agreements.
Technical Solutions carries about $0.8 billion. CEO Amir Vexler described the market in the Q2 release as “healthy demand momentum with consistent constrained supply, resulting in upward pressure on SWU prices.”
The Russia Dependency and What to Watch Through 2027
Centrus’s 10-Q says that through 2027, “well over one-half” of the LEU it expects to deliver is sourced under its 2011 TENEX Supply Contract with Russia, running through 2028, and other suppliers cannot replace it.
The Prohibiting Russian Uranium Imports Act banned Russian LEU imports from August 11, 2024, subject to DOE waivers. Centrus holds waivers for deliveries already committed through 2027; the 10-Q lists a third request, covering 2026 and 2027 sales, as filed, with no grant disclosed.
Russia’s Decree No. 1544 also rescinded TENEX’s blanket export license, replacing it with per-shipment approval; Centrus says future approvals are not certain.
Watch two dates: the first Oak Ridge centrifuge, due by year-end 2026, and the first Piketon cascade. CEO Amir Vexler’s August 2026 performance RSU award vests entirely on enrichment from that first cascade.
| Metric | Q2 2026 | Q2 2025 | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| LEU segment revenue | $153.4M | $125.7M | Q2 2026 earnings release |
| Technical Solutions revenue | $22.7M | $28.8M | Q2 2026 earnings release |
| Gross profit, total | $49.9M | $53.9M | Q2 2026 earnings release |
| Net income | $16.8M | $28.9M | Q2 2026 earnings release |
What does the ticker mean on a leu stock search?
LEU is Centrus Energy’s ticker on the NYSE, and the letters also match low-enriched uranium, the fuel its LEU segment sells to utility customers.
Has Centrus signed an actual contract with Oklo?
No, only a letter of intent, signed June 18, 2026, for HALEU to power up to five Aurora powerhouses with deliveries starting in 2029. The release says it could include prepayments from Oklo and anticipates a further definitive contract; no dollar value has been disclosed.
Why does Centrus still depend on Russian supply?
Its 2011 TENEX Supply Contract, running through 2028, still covers well over half the LEU it expects to deliver through 2027, per its own 10-Q. The filing adds that its other sources of supply are not sufficient to replace that volume.
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