Red-hot in 2025, nuclear energy stocks have been in high demand, and investors' interest don't seem likely to taper off anytime soon. Besides the auspicious futures that nuclear energy companies are projecting, political support for this niche of the renewable energy industry is powering the market's interest.
Most recently, this came in the form of a partnership between the U.S. and U.K. during President Trump's to England to facilitate development of advanced nuclear reactors.
But where specifically should investors interested in nuclear energy exposure turn? Two popular nuclear energy stocks, Cameco (CCJ -0.89%) and Oklo (OKLO -12.53%), are both industry leaders that command attention. Let's see which is a better investment opportunity.
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Cameco is an industry leader fit for conservative investors
While strong political support is driving interest in upstart nuclear energy companies, it's important to remember that the industry is decades old. During that time, Cameco has emerged as the dominant player.
With a $37.5 billion market cap, Cameco operates in various links of the nuclear energy value chain. From its upstream uranium operations in Canada, the U.S., Australia, and Kazakhstan to its fuel manufacturing services for both light water reactors and heavy water reactors, Cameco's extensive reach is considerable.
Those looking to power their portfolios with a less speculative option will undoubtedly find this well-established company appealing. After its $2.1 billion acquisition of a 49% equity stake in Westinghouse in 2023, Cameco has recognized a significant improvement in its financials with respect to both revenue; earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA); and free cash flow.
Management's interest in maintaining a strong balance sheet and not relying heavily on leverage provides further evidence of Cameco's strong financial health. At the end of June 2025, Cameco had net debt of $280 million and a net debt-to-EBITDA ratio of 0.2.
While it plays a pivotal role in the operations of traditional nuclear power plants, Cameco also has an opportunity to benefit from the development of some small modular reactor (SMR) projects. Illustrating its interest in SMR technology, Cameco announced a partnership with SMR developer X-Energy to explore ways in which it could support the company's deployment of SMRs in Canada and the U.S.
Oklo's has a powerful pipeline of potential customers
Artificial intelligence (AI) continues growing in popularity, and data center companies are struggling to fortify their infrastructures in support of AI computing's high power demands. This situation is the foundation for why investors have raced to SMR developers like Oklo.
Already making progress toward gaining a foothold in this market, Oklo is partnering with data center infrastructure specialist Vertiv to explore power and cooling solutions designed for AI-specific data centers, using steam and electricity from Oklo's Aurora powerhouse SMRs.
And it's not only Vertiv that recognizes Oklo as a valuable partner. In Oklo's second quarter 2025 10-Q, the company stated it has recently "executed two other nonbinding letters of intent to provide an additional 750 MWe [megawatts of electricity] of energy for data center customers, which could bring our current total order book of Aurora powerhouses to approximately 14,100 MWe in capacity -- nearly a 2,000% increase since our business combination announcement in July 2023."
While SMRs like Oklo's Aurora powerhouses may seem like the stuff of the future, the company recently reported progress in bringing its vision to fruition. On Sept. 22, Oklo announced that it has broken ground on its first Aurora powerhouse at Idaho National Laboratory -- a project that the company foresees commencing operations in late 2027 or early 2028.
And the winning nuclear energy stock for your portfolio is ...
There's no confusion about why Cameco and Oklo are glowing considerations for energy investors right now. On the other hand, it's certainly understandable why investors may feel conflicted about which stock to choose as an investment. For those who have a lower risk tolerance, Cameco is a much better choice at this point; however, growth investors who are comfortable carving out a niche of their portfolios for a more speculative investment would be smart to buy Oklo.
It's worth noting, though, that the most cautious of investors may feel more comfortable opting for a nuclear energy ETF instead of Cameco if they're looking to mitigate risk.
