It’s been said that timing is everything.
That’s especially true for investing in the stocks of companies in the nuclear power supply chain. Because of a run-up in share prices, wise investors may need to wait for significant dips to buy and then be willing to hold for a long time. Still, with a long enough time horizon, it seems like nuclear energy companies have a glowing future.
[Sign up for stock news with our Invested newsletter.]
After a chill following a nuclear reactor disaster in Japan in 2011, governments around the world have renewed their interest in nuclear energy. According to the World Nuclear Association, about 30 nations are considering, planning or starting nuclear power programs.
This renewed interest in nuclear power comes amid a push to lower carbon emissions, increase energy independence as a national security priority and meet increasing electricity demand from data centers, especially given the boom in energy-gobbling artificial intelligence.
To fill that demand with baseload power that can generate electricity when wind and solar farms can’t, grid developers can turn to battery storage, which is expensive and in its infancy; natural gas, which is cleaner than coal but still a carbon-emitting fossil fuel; and nuclear reactors. Hydro power and geothermal plants are also options, but unlike the other options they are constrained by geography.
In the U.S., support for nuclear power has been building through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, on top of other congressional actions.
“I don’t think I have seen a better constellation of market and policy factors supporting the industry,” says Andrew Shaw, partner with energy law firm Bracewell. Market forces at play include interest in nuclear power from the technology industry. Microsoft Corp. (ticker: MSFT), Alphabet Inc.’s (GOOG, GOOGL) Google, Meta Platforms Inc. (META) and Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) want nuclear power for data centers.
“That’s a huge positive catalyst going forward,” Shaw says.
But all this will take time, and for the moment it appears that investors have driven up valuations beyond what fundamentals would suggest. “I would not recommend any investments in nuclear stocks at the moment,” says John Berman, chief investment officer at Berman Capital Group. “The prices are completely disconnected from reality.”
He says generalist investors have been plowing money into the sector as an analog for artificial intelligence with only a poor understanding of technical aspects. That has caused companies with only minimal prospects of ever generating revenue to trade at high valuations, he says.
He also thinks that AI stocks are in a bubble right now that will eventually burst, reducing “fanciful” forecasts of power demand growth and taking nuclear stocks down with them.
“Despite my pessimism about current valuations, I remain extremely bullish on nuclear energy as a technology,” he says. “It is the single best option for an energy source that provides baseload power generation with no emissions.”
Travis Miller, senior equity analyst at Morningstar, says a lot of the run-up in nuclear stock prices is speculation. “Investors who are looking at nuclear supply chain companies need to keep in mind that it will take a while for the earnings and cash flow to develop,” he says. “Nuclear is the long-term possibility. Investors need to be cautious and patient.”
As a case in point, Vistra Corp. (VST), a utility that operates nuclear plants, has seen its shares rise from around $30 to about $190 over the past two years. Miller’s fair value on the stock is $61.
With all that in mind, here are five nuclear stocks and exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, for investors to consider:
| Stock/ETF | YTD Return* | 30-Day Return* |
| Constellation Energy Corp. (CEG) | +38.7% | -12.8% |
| BWX Technologies Inc. (BWXT) | +47.7% | +6.2% |
| NuScale Power Corp. (SMR) | +101.0% | -16.9% |
| VanEck Uranium and Nuclear ETF (NLR) | +45.4% | +1.6% |
| Range Nuclear Renaissance ETF (NUKZ) | +41.6% | -3.4% |
*As of the Sept. 4 market close.
Constellation Energy Corp. (CEG)
There are a couple of ways investors can play the nuclear theme through utilities, Miller says. One is by owning utilities with nuclear plants that can charge premiums to tech companies. The other is with nuclear utilities that could benefit if regulators decide they want to prioritize nuclear development.
Constellation falls into the first bucket, Miller says. With the biggest fleet of nuclear plants in the U.S., Constellation would be an obvious choice as a source for Big Tech to turn to for its nuclear energy needs. Meta, for example, has a 20-year nuclear agreement with Constellation. And Microsoft has agreed to purchase energy from a Constellation-revived unit at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania.
Constellation is also one of those stocks that investors are using as a proxy for AI growth, Miller says, and its shares have roughly tripled over the past two years. So, caution is warranted.
BWX Technologies Inc. (BWXT)
This nuclear solutions company is involved in building power systems for U.S. Navy submarines and aircraft carriers and cleaning up government nuclear sites. The company is a play on nuclear fuel and small modular reactors, or SMRs. These reactors represent the next generation of nuclear power generation alongside micro reactors, advanced enrichment methods and new fuel types.
Because BWXT is a well-established company and has other business lines, it may well be better positioned than smaller SMR startups.
NuScale Power Corp. (SMR)
NuScale designs and markets SMRs and says its technology can generate 77 megawatts of electricity per reactor and can be scaled up to more than 900 megawatts. The design is smaller than a traditional nuclear reactor and can be used to replace retiring coal plants and provide baseload power.
NuScale has U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission certification for one of its designs, giving it a foothold in the emerging nuclear renaissance.
Still, Berman is cautious. “To date, the only SMR design that has passed the NRC approval process is NuScale Power’s, which is a miniature version of the light-water reactor, which is the standard design for most nuclear power plants in the United States, and even with regulatory approval, NuScale Power has a long way to go to bring online a commercial reactor,” he said in an August investor note.
VanEck Uranium and Nuclear ETF (NLR)
Investors who want to spread out the risk with a more diversified investment than single stocks can consider ETFs, which trade under a single ticker symbol but contain a basket of equities. This ETF invests in uranium mining companies; companies that build, engineer and maintain nuclear power facilities and reactors; companies involved in the production of electricity from nuclear sources; and companies that provide equipment, technology or services to the nuclear power industry.
This fund has an expense ratio of 0.56%, or $56 per year for every $10,000 invested.
Range Nuclear Renaissance ETF (NUKZ)
ETFs can also be a good idea for investors who want exposure to development-stage companies that have a high potential for reward but are also very risky, such as AI executive Sam Altman-backed advanced nuclear fission startup Oklo Inc. (OKLO), which has garnered headlines after going public via a special-purpose acquisition company.
Like the VanEck ETF, this fund has Oklo as one of its holdings and is diversified along the nuclear supply chain, giving investors exposure to companies involved in advanced reactors, utilities, construction, services and fuel.
Both of these funds include utility companies, which can give them a defensive tinge. Utilities are unlikely to outperform growth stocks during times of economic expansion and stock market optimism. But when the tide turns and economic uncertainty increases, utilities can act as a portfolio cushion because houses and businesses need electricity year-round, regardless of economic conditions.
NUKZ has an expense ratio of 0.85%, and it has gained 41.6% year to date; however, its one-month performance is -3.4%.
More from U.S. News
6 Best Master Limited Partnership (MLP) ETFs
7 ETFs to Hedge Against a Stock Market Crash
Rare Earth Metals: Stocks and ETFs to Watch
5 Best Nuclear Energy Stocks and ETFs to Watch originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 09/05/25: This story was published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.