Energy demand is increasing, mainly driven by artificial intelligence (AI). According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), data centers currently consume around 1.5% of all electricity produced globally in 2025. The IEA's projection is for that rate to at least double to 3% by 2030.
And nuclear energy, especially small modular reactors (SMRs), is increasingly seen as the solution to that energy problem. Perhaps that's why the U.S. Department of Energy has committed to tripling the nation's nuclear output by the middle of the century.
Any investment in energy infrastructure is going to take years if not decades to play out, and that's what makes it such an attractive option as a dividend play. One of the best options for both share price and dividend growth is BWX Technologies (BWXT 3.07%).
NYSE: BWXT
Key Data Points
An investment with a half-life
BWX is best known for its naval nuclear propulsion systems, a business it's been involved in since the 1950s, when it designed and fabricated parts for the USS Nautilus, the world's first nuclear-powered submarine. Since then, it has built more than 400 naval nuclear reactors. On the civilian side, it has produced 325 steam generators for nuclear reactors.
The company is on the cutting edge of SMR technology. BWX's BANR microreactor is a compact and transportable nuclear power plant that can be built in a factory and is capable of generating 50 megawatts of power. There's also Project Pele, an effort with the U.S. military to create a microreactor that can be transported on a truck to power a military base in the field.
Image source: Getty Images
Strong results for BWX in 2025
BWX was having a great 2025 based on its Q3 results. In Q3 of last year, its revenue climbed 29% year over year, and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) climbed 19%. Free cash flow totaled $238 million for the first nine months of the year.
The cash is important because BWX has also issued a dividend since 2012, and for the past 10 years, it has regularly increased that dividend at a healthy rate. At present, it yields only 0.50% per share, but BWX has grown its dividend at a compound annual growth rate of 14.3% over the last 10 years.
I know that's not a particularly impressive yield, but the reason it's so low is that BWX has also seen its share price go up 80% over the past 12 months. So whether it's by dividend payments or share price growth, investors in BWX get rewarded regularly.
The company has great financial health, a long history of dividend raises, considerable share growth, and presence in a nuclear energy industry primed for growth for decades to come.
By my math, BWX makes a compelling case to be one of those stocks you buy and let sit for years to come, reinvesting the dividends. That's why it has a place in my portfolio.
