Given the energy needs of AI, it's no wonder that nuclear energy has seen a bit of a renaissance in the past couple of years. The International Energy Agency reports that there is more than 70 gigawatts of new nuclear energy capacity under construction around the world. The U.S. Department of Energy has said that it plans to triple American nuclear energy production by the middle of the century.
As such, uranium miners like Energy Fuels Inc. (UUUU 1.57%) have had a good run lately. Last year saw Energy Fuels' shares grow 183%. Energy Fuels, based in Denver, has produced two-thirds of all the uranium in the U.S. since 2017.
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It's one of America's largest players in the uranium mining industry, with a 45-year history with uranium. It holds more than 81 million measured and indicated pounds of uranium in its mines across the U.S. West and Southwest, and has the largest uranium production capacity among U.S. miners at 10 million pounds.
The company has also branched out into rare-earth mineral production and aims to expand its capacity to produce the materials for up to 6 million electric vehicles (EVs) annually.
A better option for investors
However, if you're looking for a pure-play uranium stock, you ought to look north.
Canada's Cameco (CCJ 0.13%) is the world's second-largest player, behind only Kazakhstan's state-run Kazatomprom. Cameco produced 17% of all the world's uranium in 2024.
NYSE: CCJ
Key Data Points
Now, if you're just looking at returns in the past year, that probably sounds wrong. After all, Cameco only grew its share value by 78% in 2025 -- not bad, but it's not 183%.
In the long term, though, Cameco is much stronger. Over the past five years, it has returned 600% to Energy Fuels' 350%. I think that Energy Fuels' growth is mostly due to speculation.
That's because it doesn't produce much uranium. Cameco produced 27 million pounds of uranium in 2024, while Energy Fuels produced just 158,400 pounds. What's more, most of Energy Fuels' growth over the recent five-year period came in 2025, while Cameco has been on its incredible growth trajectory since late 2022. Cameco has a much stronger balance sheet as well.
For the first nine months of 2025, Energy Fuels took in $38.82 million in revenue, which is a 1.6% increase over the same period in 2024. Cameco, on the other hand, took in revenue of $2.28 billion for the first nine months of 2025, up 17% compared to the same period in 2024.
What's more, Cameco is profitable and Energy Fuels is not. E
Cameco is simply the stronger uranium play, and its side business is more focused than Energy Fuels' pursuit of rare-earth minerals. Cameco owns a 49% stake in Westinghouse, which produces the AP1000, the most advanced nuclear reactor available on the market. It's also the reactor that the U.S. government just committed $80 billion to buying.
Cameco is one of the strongest and best-positioned uranium players in the world right now. If you're looking for a nuclear energy play, give Cameco a look before Energy Fuels.
