Nuclear energy-related stocks have taken off following major announcements from Alphabet, Inc.'s
Last week, both Google and Amazon announced major nuclear power agreements with privately-owned small modular reactor (SMR) companies. Google signed a large deal with Kairos Power and Amazon inked a deal with Energy Northwest to build four advanced SMRs.
SMR Developers:
Both Kairos Power and Energy Northwest are privately-held companies. However, there are several publicly traded companies focused on SMRs.
- Oklo, Inc.
(OKLO ) develops fast fission power plants to provide nuclear energy at scale and counts OpenAI's Sam Altman as the chairman of its board of directors. The stock has gained more than 190% over the past month as the nuclear trade takes off. - NuScale Power Corp.
(SMR ) develops modular light water reactor nuclear power plants and its stock has soared nearly 100% over the past month. - Nano Nuclear Energy, Inc.
(NNE ) is a developer of portable, on-demand capable, and advanced nuclear microreactors. Nano Nuclear Energy stock is up 85% over the past month.
Shares of power companies have also gained as data centers and AI applications raise demand for energy to power the emerging technologies.
- Constellation Energy Corp.
(CEG ) a massive deal with Microsoft Corp.(MSFT ) in September which includes plans to restart Unit 1 of the Three Mile Island nuclear facility. The reopening is part of a 20-year power purchase agreement to power Microsoft's AI data centers. - Vistra Corp.
(VST ) is one of the largest power producers and retail energy providers in the U.S. and owns 41 gigawatts of nuclear, coal, natural gas, and solar power generation. The stock is also the best performer in the S&P 500 in 2024, beating out other AI-related names including NVIDIA Corp.(NVDA ) which was the best performer in 2023.
Uranium is needed to generate nuclear power and prices have increased significantly, up roughly 60% since the beginning of the year.
- Cameco Corporation
(CCJ ) is a uranium producer with several projects including Millennium, Yeelirrie, Kintyre and Exploration. Cameco shares are up nearly 45% over the past month. - Centrus Energy Corp.
(LEU ) supplies enriched uranium fuel for commercial nuclear power plants in the U.S. and internationally. Centrus Energy stock gained 21% on Friday after the Department of Energy awarded the company a contract aimed at expanding its domestic commercial production.
Last week, Oklo's co-founder and CEO Jacob DeWitte joined CNBC's "Money Movers" and highlighted the current opportunities for companies in the nuclear power industry.
"It's an extremely exciting time for nuclear ... the numbers are staggering here. The power demand numbers, frankly, they're mind-blowing," DeWitte said. "It's a huge opportunity for a lot of players in the space, and nuclear offers a really great solution. "
