I like to follow fusion news whenever I see it, and I think the situation might be even worse than you’re describing, lol.

The news about ignition and/or more energy out than in, that refers to the energy actually delivered to the sample versus the full energy released from the sample. So it doesn’t include all the energy needed to charge and fire the lasers that was lost along the way. And like you said, it’s the thermal power they’re measuring, and you lose a huge amount of that power when converting to electricity.

I think we’re still firmly in the “fusion is 20/30 years away” cycle.