Why it is back in the conversation
Nuclear plants produce large amounts of electricity around the clock without burning fossil fuels. As electricity demand rises, including from data centres, governments have extended the lives of existing plants and some large technology companies have signed long-term deals for nuclear power.
That is a change of mood after decades in which few new plants were built in the West. Whether it turns into many new reactors is still an open question.
Three different kinds of business
A uranium miner is a commodity company: when the uranium price rises its profits jump, and when it falls they can vanish. A utility with nuclear plants is a steadier business selling electricity. A reactor developer may be years from selling anything.
A portfolio tilted towards miners and developers will swing far more than one tilted towards utilities and established engineering firms.
Long timelines, frequent overruns
Large nuclear projects take a decade or more from decision to switching on. Recent projects in both the US and the UK finished, or are finishing, years late and far over their original budgets.
Smaller modular reactors are meant to solve this by being built in factories. Very few are operating yet, so that promise has not been proven at scale.
A small market for the fuel
Uranium trades in a much smaller market than oil or copper, and a few countries account for most of the supply. That makes the price sensitive to political events and to a single large mine having problems.
The nuclear chain
Uranium miners
Dig up the raw fuel. Their profits follow the uranium price.
For example: Cameco, Kazatomprom, Paladin Energy
Fuel and enrichment
Turn mined uranium into fuel a reactor can use.
For example: Centrus Energy
Reactor builders and services
Design, build and maintain reactors and their parts.
For example: BWX Technologies, GE Vernova, Rolls-Royce
Utilities with nuclear plants
Own power stations and sell the electricity.
For example: Constellation Energy, Vistra, Duke Energy
New reactor designs
Developing smaller reactors. Early stage and speculative.
For example: NuScale Power, Oklo
Companies are listed to show what each category means. They are not recommendations, and the list is not complete.
Three ways to invest
There is no single right route. Many people combine them, and plenty decide a broad global fund is all they need.
- 1
Buy individual shares
Pick one or more nuclear energy companies and buy their shares through a broker or investing app.
- Good for
- Simple to understand. You own exactly what you chose.
- Watch out for
- If you only hold a few companies, one bad result can do real damage. Picking winners is hard, even for professionals.
- 2
Buy a ready-made fund
A fund (often an ETF) holds dozens of companies in one purchase. Examples include the VanEck Uranium and Nuclear ETF (NLR) and Global X Uranium ETF (URA) in the US, and the VanEck Uranium and Nuclear Technologies UCITS ETF (NUCL) in the UK and Europe.
- Good for
- Instant spread across many companies, with very little effort.
- Watch out for
- You get what the fund provider chose, including companies you may not want. Themed funds usually charge more than broad trackers, so check the yearly fee and the top ten holdings. Which funds you can buy depends on where you live.
- 3
Build your own portfolio
Choose your own mix of companies and how much of each, then buy them through your broker. This is what Arithmos helps with: describe the mix in a sentence and it builds and tests one for you to consider.
- Good for
- You decide exactly what is in and what is out, and you can see the reason for every company.
- Watch out for
- More to look after than a fund. Buying many separate shares can cost more in dealing fees, and a tested result is a simulation, not a promise.
What $100 would have done
To make this concrete, here is a real portfolio from this area that anyone can open on Arithmos, and what $100 put into it would be worth. It is one example, shown as it is, whether it went up or down.
If you’d put $100.00 into this portfolio of 15 companies…
The risks
- Delays and overruns. Large nuclear projects have a long history of both.
- Uranium price swings. Miners' fortunes follow a small and jumpy market.
- Policy and public opinion. Support can change after an election or an accident anywhere in the world.
- Speculative companies. Some reactor developers have little or no revenue and depend on raising more money.
- Supply politics. Mining and enrichment are concentrated in a few countries.
Try it yourself
The quickest way to understand a portfolio is to look at one. Here is how to turn this guide into something you can inspect.
- 1
Start from the idea
The button below opens the builder with this guide's idea already typed in. Change any part of it: the number of companies, the countries, the limit per company.
- 2
Read the reason for every company
You get a list of companies, how much of each, and a plain-English reason for each pick. If one looks wrong to you, you can ask for it to be changed.
- 3
Look at the bad years, not just the good ones
The portfolio is replayed against real past prices. Check the biggest fall along the way, and ask yourself whether you could have sat through it.
- 4
Decide for yourself
If you want to act on it, you buy the shares yourself through your own broker. Arithmos never holds your money or places trades.
“Companies across nuclear power: uranium miners, reactor builders and utilities that run nuclear plants. 15 companies worldwide, no single one over 10%.”
Browsing portfolios other people have published is free. See pricing for what building your own includes. A tested result is a simulation using past prices. It is not a forecast and not a recommendation.
Common questions
What is the difference between a uranium fund and a nuclear fund?
A uranium fund mainly holds miners, and sometimes the metal itself, so it follows the uranium price. A broader nuclear fund also holds reactor builders and utilities, which makes it steadier.
What is a small modular reactor?
A reactor much smaller than a traditional one, designed to be built largely in a factory and installed on site. The idea is lower cost and shorter build times. Only a handful exist so far.
Are nuclear energy stocks risky?
It depends which ones. Large utilities are among the steadier companies in the market. Uranium miners and reactor developers can rise and fall very sharply.
