Nuclear Stocks Rally As Trump Plans To Boost Industry

Forbes

23-05-2025

Shares of Constellation Energy, Oklo and other nuclear power companies surged following a report that President Donald Trump planned to sign executive orders boosting the nuclear industry as soon as Friday, with an ease in regulations that would streamline construction of new reactors.
An earlier report suggested the Trump administration would streamline a process for new nuclear ... More reactors.
Constellation Energy, the largest nuclear operator in the U.S., rose by 3% by Friday afternoon, while shares of uranium mining firms Uranium Energy (23%), Energy Fuels (17%), Cameco Corp. (9.5%) and Centrus Energy (22%) also spiked in value.
Shares of Oklo, the advanced reactor company backed by Sam Altman, jumped 25%, with gains across nuclear tech, including Nano Nuclear Energy (29%) and NuScale Power (16%)
Other nuclear companies like Vistra (1.9%) and GE Vernova (1.5%) had their shares increase Friday, while the Global X Uranium ETF, which trades among several uranium-backed stocks, jumped more than 10%.
The nuclear industry is expected to benefit from a budget bill approved in the House on Thursday. The legislation, referred to by Trump as his 'one big beautiful bill' and heavily opposed by Democrats, includes provisions that would reduce spending on Medicaid by nearly $700 billion and reduce spending for a national food assistance program, among others. Tax cuts are central to the bill, however, and feature more than $5 trillion in cuts, while about two-thirds of Americans would pay less in taxes by 2027. The bill also plans to cut tax credits for clean energy manufacturing by 2031, though tax credits for nuclear energy are preserved.
Each of the three market indexes fell Friday, with losses across the Dow Jones Industrial Average (down 0.6%), the S&P 500 (0.7%) and the tech-heavy Nasdaq (0.9%). A broader market selloff was led by Apple, after Trump warned on Truth Social the company faced tariffs of at least 25% if the company failed to shift iPhone production to the U.S. Other stocks like Nvidia (1%), Qualcomm (2%) and Micron (2%) also fell, as Trump said trade negotiations with the European Union are 'going nowhere' and pushed for a 50% tariff on the block.
Reuters reported Thursday, citing four sources familiar with the plans, that Trump was expected to sign an executive order Friday to invoke the Defense Production Act, which would declare a national emergency over U.S. dependence on Russia and China for enriched uranium, nuclear fuel processing and reactor inputs. Trump's other orders would also ease the regulatory process on approving new reactors and strengthening fuel supply chains, according to a draft summary obtained by Reuters. Trump declared an emergency on energy shortly after his inauguration, arguing the U.S. has the 'potential to use its unrealized energy resources domestically.' The Energy Information Administration reported earlier this month the U.S. power output is expected to reach new record highs in 2025 and 2026 amid an increased demand from AI data centers, cryptocurrency and as more homes and businesses use more electricity.
Trump To Sign Orders To Boost Nuclear Power As Soon As Friday (Reuters)