NuScale Power (SMR +1.58%) will be one of the most exciting stocks to watch over the next few years. The company should benefit directly from a surge of renewed interest in nuclear energy. This opportunity could be valued at up to $10 trillion globally.
Nuclear is experiencing a renaissance thanks to one rapidly growing industry: artificial intelligence (AI). Over the next three years, here's what to expect from NuScale Power as a business and as a stock.
NYSE: SMR
Key Data Points
NuScale Power should see its business grow and mature significantly
If you leaf through NuScale Power's recent investor presentation, you'll see clear references to rising electricity demand for the AI industry. After more than a decade of flatlined growth, electricity demand is once again expected to rise by around 4% annually through 2030.
This renewed growth is largely driven by rising energy demand for data centers, which provide the compute power necessary to train, deploy, and execute complex AI models. During the company's latest earning call, NuScale Power's management stressed that its technology can directly "support the fast-growing energy demand for AI data centers."
Outside experts agree that nuclear has great potential to address the rising energy needs of AI data centers. "Amid surging electricity demand, driven in part by the rise in AI/data centers, nuclear energy offers a potential solution," concludes a recent research report from Bank of America. "And new advancements in technology may now make the tipping point in sight for small modular reactors (SMRs) to reshape nuclear energy supply chains over the next decade."
NuScale Power's approach to nuclear specifically focuses on designing and manufacturing SMRs, which Bank of America believes could play a key role in the upcoming nuclear renaissance.
"If commercialized, SMRs would offer five major advantages over conventional, large-scale nuclear power plants," the bank's research finds. Those benefits are better upfront affordability, improved safety, modularization, smaller footprints, and reduced CO2 byproducts.
In short, if nuclear scales to meet the rising energy needs of the AI industry, NuScale Power's SMR approach should be a direct beneficiary. But does that mean the stock is a buy?
Image source: Getty Images.
Can you trust SMR stock with your money?
I'm bullish on NuScale Power as a business. But the investment thesis is more nuanced.
After a brief correction, the entire company is now valued at less than $4 billion. Note that in 2025, the company posted a net loss of around $355 million. And keep in mind that its first plan isn't expected to be operational until 2030 at the earliest.
Over the next three years, then, NuScale Power will likely still be generating losses. That will result in ongoing shareholder dilution, putting a dent in investors' long-term gains. All of that dilution and waiting may prove worthwhile five or even 10 years down the road as SMR technology scales with rising real-world adoption. But make no mistake: NuScale Power isn't a viable investment for those unwilling to wait. Patience will be key to profiting with this stock.
