The Top 2 Nuclear Energy Stocks to Buy Right Now

The nuclear energy market cooled for roughly a decade after the Fukushima disaster in 2011, prompting many countries to pause their nuclear projects. But over the past few years, new decarbonization initiatives, safer nuclear reactors, and the expansion of the AI, cloud, and data center markets have driven more companies to restart their nuclear energy projects.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the world's nuclear capacity could increase by more than 50% from 2025 to 2050. To capitalize on that trend, investors should look for nuclear companies that control crucial parts of the global nuclear energy supply chain. Two of those companies are Cameco (NYSE: CCJ) and BWX Technologies (NYSE: BWXT).

Cameco

Cameco, which mined roughly 15% of the world's uranium in 2025, is the world's second-largest uranium miner after Kazatomprom, Kazakhstan's national atomic company. It's based in Canada, and it operates mines across Canada, the U.S., and Kazakhstan.

Cameco struggled for years after the Fukushima disaster in 2011. Uranium's spot price plunged from $62.25 per pound in 2011 to $35.00 in 2020, forcing Cameco to temporarily shut down its largest mines and mills. That reduced production throttled its revenue growth.

But by the end of this April, uranium's spot price had bounced back to $86.35 per pound. Citi analysts expect it to rise as high as $125 per pound this year, as the resurgent interest in nuclear energy drives the demand for uranium to outstrip its supply. Cameco restarted its mines and mills to meet that soaring demand, but its supply remains tight.

Cameco also partnered with Brookfield Asset Management to acquire Westinghouse Electric, one of the world's leading nuclear technology companies, in 2023. That investment reduced Cameco's exposure to volatile uranium prices and marked a major step toward its evolution into a more diversified nuclear energy company.

From 2025 to 2028, analysts expect Cameco's revenue and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) to grow at CAGRs of 8% and 12%, respectively. With an enterprise value of $61.5 billion, it isn't cheap at 33 times this year's adjusted EBITDA -- but the soaring demand for uranium could justify that higher valuation. It only pays a paltry forward yield of 0.2%, but its low payout ratio of 16% gives it ample room for future hikes.

BWX Technologies

BWX is the only large-scale producer of specialized nuclear components, fuel systems, and naval reactor systems in North America. It's also one of the only companies authorized to work with regulated nuclear materials, handle high-assay enriched uranium (HALEU) and tri-structural isotropic (TRISO) fuel, and produce naval reactor components for the U.S. Navy.

Those qualities make BWX, which was spun off from Babcock & Wilcox in 2025, a linchpin and bellwether of the nuclear energy market. Its heavy exposure to the defense sector also insulated it from the broader slowdown in nuclear spending after the Fukushima disaster.

At the end of 2025, BWX's backlog grew 50% year over year to $7.3 billion as it produced more naval propulsion components for submarines, sold more commercial nuclear power components, and expanded its fledgling small modular reactor (SMR) business -- which produces smaller and easier-to-deploy nuclear reactors for remote areas. The rapid expansion of the power-hungry AI and data center markets should drive more companies to adopt SMRs.

From 2025 to 2028, analysts expect BWX's revenue and adjusted EBITDA to grow at CAGRs of 13% and 12%, respectively. With an enterprise value of $19.5 billion, it isn't a bargain at 30 times this year's adjusted EBITDA.

However, BWX's scale, diversification, and wide moat could justify that premium valuation as its defense and commercial customers ramp up their nuclear spending. It only pays a forward yield of 0.5% today, but its low payout ratio of 27% also gives it plenty of room to raise its dividend.

Citigroup is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Leo Sun has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends BWX Technologies, Brookfield Asset Management, and Cameco. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.