The Crowd Is Dumping Oklo. Here's Why I'd Be Buying It Down 44%.

Oklo (NYSE: OKLO) is trying to solve a simple problem that is getting bigger fast: AI data centers, industrial sites, and other power-hungry customers need more reliable electricity than the grid can provide.

In some places, the grid is nearly out of breath, and the load it must carry isn't getting lighter, either. Indeed, a June 2026 report from the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory estimates that data centers could consume about 11.8% of all U.S. electricity by 2030, up from about 4.4% in 2023. That's a huge jump, and it doesn't even paint the full picture either. New factories, more electric vehicles, and a broader shift toward electrification efforts will also push power demands even higher.

Oklo's answer to this is a small nuclear reactor that can sit close to customers, like data centers and factories. The autonomy of on-site power could take a load off the grid, not to mention give customers round-the-clock electricity without waiting years to connect to the grid.

Image source: The Motley Fool.

If all this, so far, has made you yawn, then I'd venture to guess you've heard this story before. And, indeed, many investors have already shrugged it off. For many, the "AI power" narrative is a development too far into the future to warrant an investment today. Besides, Oklo is burning cash today and may still be years away from earning money on nuclear power. It's not for nothing that the stock has tanked over 75% since peaking above $190 last October.

It's understandable why investors would shy away from Oklo. But after the months-long sell-off, I think this nuclear energy stock is worth reconsidering today for one reason.

The reason I would buy Oklo today

I said earlier that Oklo is helping solve a potential power crisis in the U.S. But what should be said is that Oklo doesn't need to solve the entire problem to build a thriving business. Because a single data center campus can use enormous amounts of electricity, a few successful projects could end up generating billions in recurring revenue.

Take, for example, Oklo's deal with Meta (NASDAQ: META).

Under the terms of this agreement, Oklo plans to develop a 1.2-gigawatt nuclear power campus in Ohio to support Meta's data centers in that area.

Oklo's latest Aurora powerhouse can theoretically produce 75 megawatts, so the campus in Ohio would be equal to about 16 of these. If these reactors operate for 90% of the time, then the power plant would generate about 9.46 million megawatt-hours of electricity each year.

Oklo hasn't revealed any electricity prices yet -- it's way too early for that -- but if we decide on a range of about $70 to $125 per MWh, which is purely illustrative, Oklo could bring in between $700 million and $1.2 billion.

Of course, these are illustrative scenarios, not a forecast. Oklo still has to license and build reactors, not to mention prove if can scale them profitably. But, in a back-of-the-envelope way, I think it shows why Oklo could be such a rewarding stock long-term: It only needs a handful of big wins to build it into a very large business.

Steven Porrello has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Meta Platforms. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.