Shares of Fluor (FLR 1.03%) have been on a roller-coaster ride in 2025. At one point, the stock had declined by 37%. This was followed by a rally, resulting in a year-to-date gain of 15%, which put the stock at a 52-week high. And then the stock fell again, with the recent price amounting to a year-to-date loss of around 17%.
Is this the kind of stock that can turn you into a millionaire? Here's what you need to know.
The exciting news about Fluor
Wall Street likes a good story, so it makes sense to start out with the most exciting news about Fluor. The company was an early investor in NuScale Power (SMR 2.49%). NuScale is attempting to build a business around small-scale modular nuclear reactors (SMRs). It is a highly interesting technology in the nuclear power sector that has garnered the attention of investors. Fluor is selling its stake in NuScale Power, which will allow it to raise cash for other purposes.
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At one point during 2025, NuScale Power's stock price was higher by just under 200%. However, since the company has still not built or sold a single SMR, there's a significant amount of idiosyncratic risk associated with the stock. It is currently down about 10% for the year as enthusiasm around the shares has cooled significantly.
Fluor raised about $600 million in October 2025 from a partial sale of its stake. That was when NuScale's stock was trading near 52-week highs. Fluor hopes to monetize its remaining stake by the middle of 2026. Given the volatility of NuScale Power's stock price, however, it is hard to put a value on the remaining stake. Given NuScale's current price, it would likely be worth far less than it was in October when the first sale took place.
If you are considering Fluor because you believe the NuScale Power investment will unlock significant value for shareholders, you may end up being disappointed. Moreover, the cash raised isn't going to be distributed directly to shareholders; it is likely to be reinvested in the business or used to strengthen the company's balance sheet.
Fluor's overhaul is going well
The sale of the company's NuScale Power investment is actually part of a larger company overhaul. Fluor's engineering and construction business had been suffering as price overruns on fixed-cost projects left it holding the financial bag. Fluor has been shifting to projects where it is simply reimbursed for its costs, which should make the company more consistently profitable in the future. At the end of the third quarter of 2025, the company had a backlog of $28.2 billion, with 82% of that work utilizing reimbursable contracts.
NYSE: FLR
Key Data Points
From a long-term perspective, the company is fairly well-positioned. However, there are negatives to consider. For example, the backlog was down 10% year over year. Moreover, generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) earnings have been highly volatile thanks to the volatility in NuScale Power's share price and other one-time items.
Then there's the not-so-subtle fact that major construction projects tend to be a little cyclical in nature. In other words, it is somewhat challenging to assign a valuation to Fluor at present despite the business improvements taking place at a fundamental level.
To put some numbers on that, losses in recent years mean that the current and historical price-to-earnings (P/E) ratios are not particularly useful valuation tools. The price-to-sales (P/S) ratio, given that sales tend to be more consistent over time, is above its five-year average, a sign that hints at overvaluation.
Probably not a millionaire maker
Only more aggressive investors should be considering Fluor right now. While there is good news here, as the company overhauls its business, there is still considerable uncertainty. The connection with NuScale Power is part of that uncertainty and part of the overhaul.
Yes, Fluor's business appears to be in a better position than it was not too long ago. However, that isn't enough to make it worth buying, especially if you are hoping for a massive financial windfall. In fact, the only thing that seems certain here is that the stock is likely to leave conservative investors with sleepless nights.
