3 Nuclear Energy Stocks That Are Quietly Becoming the Trades of the Year
📈 The global nuclear sector is experiencing a renaissance driven by renewed investment and interest after decades of favoring fossil fuels.
⚛️ The US Department of Energy has set a goal to triple nuclear output by the middle of the century to support growing energy demands.
🤖 Big tech companies are partnering with power firms to repurpose nuclear plants specifically to provide energy for AI data centers.
☢️ Cameco is the world's second-largest uranium miner, producing 15% of global uranium in 2025 behind only Kazakhstan's Kazatomprom.
🏭 Cameco operates through almost the entire nuclear fuel cycle, including two high-grade mines in Canada and one low-grade mine in Kazakhstan.
🤝 Cameco holds a 49% ownership stake in Westinghouse through a joint venture with Brookfield Asset Management for advanced AP1000 reactors.
💰 Cameco reported an 11% revenue growth in 2025 with a high net profit margin of 16.9% and a low debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.
🏢 Constellation Energy is America's largest green energy and nuclear operator, owning 21 US nuclear reactors and adding new ones soon.
📅 Constellation is partnering with Microsoft to recommission the Three Mile Island plant as the Crane Clean Energy Center for data center power.
⚡ The completed Microsoft partnership will include a 20-year power purchase agreement starting in 2028 to support AI infrastructure needs.
📉 Constellation maintained an 8.3% revenue increase in 2025, a 9.1% net profit margin, and a healthy debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.
💵 Constellation pays an increasing annual dividend since 2022 with a current yield of 0.55% and plenty of room for future growth.
🚀 BWX Technologies is a pioneer in naval nuclear reactors, having designed components for the USS Nautilus and produced over 400 Navy reactors.
⚙️ BWX is developing small modular reactors (SMRs) like the BANR that can be factory-built and shipped to locations needing power.
🧠 BWX's SMRs are designed to generate 75 megawatts, making them a potential solution for powering artificial intelligence data centers.
📈 BWX reported strong performance in 2025 with $3.19 billion revenue (up 18%), EPS growth of 20%, and a 10.3% net profit margin.
🔮 The article suggests Cameco represents the present of nuclear technology, Constellation is a stable utility play, and BWX represents the future.
⚠️ The Motley Fool's Stock Advisor team has recently identified a top 10 list of best stocks to buy now, which did not include Cameco.
- Constellation Energy (CEG) recorded revenue growth of 8.3% in 2025 and maintains a healthy net profit margin of 9.1%, demonstrating strong operational performance.
- The company has secured a high-value partnership with Microsoft to re-commission Three Mile Island as the Crane Clean Energy Center, targeting completion by 2028 for data center power needs.
- Constellation's dividend payout ratio of 20.96% provides ample room for future dividend growth, and the company has increased its dividend annually since 2022.
- BWX Technologies (BWXT) achieved an impressive 18% revenue increase to $3.19 billion in 2025, alongside a strong 20% earnings per share (EPS) growth.
- BWX's small modular reactor technology is designed to generate 75 megawatts of power, positioning it as a key solution for the rising power demands of artificial intelligence data centers.
- Cameco (CCJ) generated revenue growth of 11% in 2025 while maintaining an industry-leading low debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, showcasing strong balance sheet health.
- The nuclear sector is experiencing a global renaissance with the U.S. Department of Energy setting an ambitious goal to triple nuclear output by the middle of the century.
- Big tech companies are actively collaborating with power companies to bring nuclear plants back online, creating new demand catalysts for nuclear energy producers.
- Despite being the world's second largest uranium producer with high-grade mines, Cameco was excluded from The Motley Fool Stock Advisor's top 10 best stocks to buy list as of December 17, 2024.
- Constellation Energy's dividend yield is only 0.55%, which is low compared to many utility sector peers.
- The Three Mile Island recommissioning project by Constellation is not yet operational and is targeted for completion in 2028, delaying immediate revenue contribution from this partnership with Microsoft.
- Constellation's nuclear fleet represents current generation technology rather than frontier fission technology, potentially leaving it behind faster innovation curves compared to competitors like BWX.
- Historically, outside of France, countries have favored oil, natural gas, and coal over nuclear power since the 1950s, creating a long-standing competitive headwind that requires a 'renaissance' of interest to overcome.