Fluor (FLR 3.56%) has dramatically improved its business. That's good news, but there are still important aspects of the engineering and construction company's operations you need to understand before buying the stock. And that includes the company's material investment in NuScale Power (SMR 2.63%), which some investors seem quite excited about today. Can buying Fluor help make you a millionaire? It's complicated.
What does Fluor do?
Fluor builds things. Very large things, like buildings, bridges, and power plants. What it does is very important for economic growth. Fluor is also good at what it does, having won $3.3 billion in construction projects in the third quarter of 2025 alone. Its backlog of work sits at a huge $28.2 billion.
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What's notable about those two figures is the percentage that is reimbursable. In the third quarter, 99% of the work added to the backlog was reimbursable. Yet only 82% of the full backlog is reimbursable. This highlights management's effort to shift away from fixed-price contracts. If there are cost overruns with a fixed-price contract, Fluor has to foot the difference. Reimbursable contracts help create a more stable revenue stream at the top of the income statement.
Fluor is becoming a more reliable business, which should be good news to most investors. That's particularly true given the need for large construction products to upgrade infrastructure in key markets like the United States and to support continued economic growth worldwide. However, there's a key fact that investors can't forget: big capital investment projects are often cyclical in nature.
When times are flush, countries and companies are more willing to invest the millions, if not billions, necessary to build. During recessions, however, big spending plans often get delayed or canceled. Although Fluor is a more stable business today than it has been in recent years, it remains a cyclical one.
That suggests that investors looking to build a seven-figure nest egg will have to hold the stock for a long time and likely through big share price swings. Most will probably be better off with a business that can support more consistent growth through the economic cycle.
NYSE: FLR
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What about NuScale Power?
That said, there's a potential diamond in the rough hidden within Fluor. Fluor was an early investor in NuScale Power, a company attempting to build a business around small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs). SMRs are an important development in the nuclear power industry. Fluor likely hopes to be a key construction partner in projects that use NuScale Power's reactors. It's working to secure the first such project's approval in Romania.
Nuclear power is experiencing a renaissance, and investors are generally excited about the sector. Fluor was able to sell part of its stake in NuScale Power in the third quarter of 2025 for $605 million. It plans to divest the rest of its NuScale Power investment in the first half of 2026.
NYSE: SMR
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The sale of NuScale Power stock could be a windfall for Fluor. Or it could be less exciting than some investors hope. Indeed, the sale in 2025 occurred when NuScale Power was near its 52-week high. The shares have since lost around 60% of their value. A sale of NuScale stock at the recent price wouldn't be nearly as exciting for Fluor shareholders.
Most investors will probably be better off elsewhere
Fluor is a well-run company that has worked to become a more reliable business. But it's still operating in a cyclical industry. Investors looking to build million-dollar portfolios will probably be better off in more growth-oriented investments. And while NuScale Power adds some excitement to the story, it probably won't be enough to make Fluor a buy for most investors.
