Nuclear stocks soared 1,000%. Here’s what’s behind the rally

Key points:

• Nuclear stocks have posted extraordinary gains, fuelled by AI’s surging energy demand and supportive policy.
• Small modular reactors promise flexibility but face long timelines, cost risks, and licensing hurdles.
• Investors should focus on milestones, binding contracts, regulatory approvals, and credible project finance rather than headlines.

A sudden spark in nuclear

Nuclear stocks have rarely looked this lively. Oklo has surged more than 1,000% over the past year, including a 63% gain last week. NuScale climbed 26%, while Nano Nuclear jumped nearly 40%. Uranium producers joined the frenzy, with Cameco and Uranium Energy rising more than 10% each.

The triggers were clear: Washington and London announced a fresh nuclear partnership, the White House moved to accelerate licensing and fuel security, and the US Department of Energy unveiled new pilot programmes. At the same time, investors are waking up to the fact that US data centres alone could nearly triple their share of electricity demand to 8.6% by 2035.

It is a rare confluence of policy momentum and technological pull. But some insiders are taking chips off the table. Oklo’s finance chief filed to sell USD 9 million worth of stock, while Fluor, the largest shareholder in NuScale, has been trimming its position. That does not mean the story is over, but it shows valuations are running ahead of construction schedules.

Why AI has put nuclear back on the map

The resurgence of nuclear is not driven by ideology but by physics. Artificial intelligence is devouring power at a rate the grid was never designed for. The International Energy Agency reckons global data centres could consume as much electricity by 2030 as the entire nation of Japan. In practical terms, it is like building a new New York City’s worth of electricity demand every year.

Intermittent renewables cannot shoulder that load alone. Nuclear offers something unique: round-the-clock, carbon-free baseload power with uptime above 90%, far surpassing wind, solar, or gas.

Tech giants are responding. Google has agreed to source nuclear power for AI workloads, Microsoft is exploring the reopening of shuttered US plants, and Meta has partnered with Constellation. These projects remain pilot-stage, but they highlight how Silicon Valley and the nuclear industry are increasingly in bed together.

“AI has made nuclear relevant again because it is one of the few sources that can run flat-out, 24/7, for decades.”

The promise and peril of small reactors

Much of the hype is focused on small modular reactors (SMRs) and microreactors, scaled-down designs meant to be built in factories and shipped by truck rather than constructed over a decade on-site. Dozens of start-ups are pursuing them in the US and Europe, while China is already rolling out its first units.

The pitch is compelling: smaller reactors could cut costs, shorten timelines, and provide flexible siting options. But so far the economics remain unproven. No SMR has yet been completed in the US, and first-of-a-kind projects almost always overshoot budgets and schedules. Licensing remains slow, advanced fuel supply chains are not yet ready, and without binding offtake contracts, project finance is nearly impossible to secure.

A thin but expanding investable universe

For investors, scarcity has been the sector’s secret weapon. Oklo, NuScale and Nano Nuclear are currently the only pure-play developers listed in the US, and their limited supply has amplified investor demand. All three came public via SPACs, a vehicle that has burned investors in many sectors but delivered rich returns here.

Now, more names are lining up. Terra Innovatum, Terrestrial Energy and Eagle Energy Metals are all preparing SPAC listings this year. Each has a different approach, tiny modular cubes, molten-salt technology, or a hybrid miner-developer model, but all remain years from commercial operation.

For those unwilling to bet on moon-shots, other routes exist. Regulated utilities extending the lives of existing plants offer steadier cash flows. Uranium producers and enrichment firms could benefit from efforts to reduce reliance on Russian supply. And engineering or component suppliers may prove the “picks and shovels” winners of the nuclear build-out.

Risks investors can’t ignore

Nuclear is a sector full of potential, but also one with formidable risks:

• Construction risk: average cost overruns exceed 100%, and delays are common.
• Regulatory risk: approval processes remain lengthy, and political sentiment can shift quickly.
• Community resistance: local opposition has derailed projects before.
• Supply-chain fragility: enrichment capacity is still heavily dependent on Russia.
• Market psychology: rallies have been fuelled by hype as much as fundamentals, and insider selling shows even industry leaders are cautious. 

What to watch from here

For investors, the milestones that matter are not press releases but hard evidence: binding offtake agreements with disclosed pricing and tenor, regulatory progress on design certification and site permitting, secured advanced fuel supply, credible project finance packages, and proof that later units can be delivered faster and cheaper than the first.

The calendar is filling quickly. The Department of Energy will soon announce pilot awards. State legislatures in Illinois and New York are debating whether to lift moratoria on new plants. Several nuclear SPACs will face shareholder votes. And the first credible SMR construction starts in North America could turn sentiment.

How investors should think about the opportunity

The nuclear rally is being fuelled by three converging forces: AI’s insatiable demand for electricity, a friendlier US–UK policy environment, and the scarcity of investable names. But this is also an industry where hype consistently outruns hardware.

For investors, balance is key. Uranium producers and regulated operators may provide steadier, lower-risk exposure. SMR developers and new SPACs are high-beta bets, potentially lucrative but also vulnerable to sharp reversals. The smartest move may be to watch milestones rather than headlines, and to treat nuclear as a long-duration story rather than a quick trade.