2 Top Nuclear Stocks to Buy and Hold for AI Energy Growth
Nuclear energy stocks and ETFs are a direct investment in the artificial intelligence age and the expansion of the U.S. economy and broader energy ecosystem.
Speculative nuclear energy stocks NuScale Power SMR and Oklo Inc. OKLO have soared over 100% in the last month as Wall Street dives into home-run stocks again.
Investors should consider NuScale and Oklo as part of a diversified portfolio. But they are far from guaranteed nuclear energy winners because they are still developing their next-generation technologies.
Meanwhile, Constellation and Cameco are established industry giants that are some of the safer long-term nuclear energy stocks on the market. Their bull cases, and the broader nuclear industry growth outlook, are driven by the U.S. government's push to at least triple nuclear energy capacity by 2050.
President Trump signed an executive order in late May to accelerate the expansion and innovation of nuclear power. Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, and other AI hyperscalers have signed huge long-term nuclear power deals to help support their AI growth efforts.
Large data centers can consume nearly as much electricity as a midsize city, and generative AI platforms like ChatGPT use at least 10 times the energy of a typical Google search.
This AI-driven energy boom is arriving just as the U.S. and major tech companies aim to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels. This backdrop is part of the reason why global investment in clean energy technologies and infrastructure is expected to hit $2.5 trillion in 2025.
Today's Full Court Finance at Zacks explores two established nuclear energy stocks—Constellation Energy and Cameco—to buy and hold for long-term growth as big tech and artificial intelligence go all-in on nuclear power.
Constellation Energy CEG is the largest U.S. nuclear power plant operator. The nuclear standout is establishing itself as the energy titan of the AI age with its planned $27 billion deal to buy natural gas and geothermal powerhouse Calpine, which it announced in early 2025.
CEG's deal creates the largest clean energy firm and expands its footprint into power-hungry, tech-heavy Texas and California (far beyond its current footprint in the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, and Northeast).
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CEG cemented the direct growth link between nuclear power and AI when it secured a 20-year power purchase agreement with Microsoft (MSFT) in September 2024. The deal will see Constellation restart Three Mile Island Unit 1 to help power MSFT's artificial intelligence goals.
CEG followed that up with a 20-year nuclear power deal with Meta META in Illinois that will also help Constellation pursue its next-generation small modular reactors goals.
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Unlike the speculative stocks in the space, Wall Street loves CEG because of its ability to raise dividend and expand its bottom line. Constellation increased its dividend by 10% in 2025 after it boosted its payout by 25% in 2024.
The nuclear energy powerhouse is expected to grow its adjusted earnings by 9% in 2025 and 22% in 2026, as part of its 'visible, double-digit long-term base EPS growth backed by the Nuclear Production Tax Credit.'
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CEG is neck-and-neck with Nvidia since its early February 2022 IPO, with its 470% run quadrupling Meta. The stock is up 36% in 2025, but it got rejected at its all-time highs after the Meta news broke on June 3.
Constellation held its ground at its 21-day moving average on Thursday while trading at roughly neutral RSI levels. Investors might want to buy the stock 14% below its peaks and hold for long-term AI-boosted growth.
Cameco CCJ is the second-largest uranium producer in the world. The Canadian uranium miner is also a leading supplier of uranium refining, conversion, and fuel manufacturing services. CCJ is one of the only large-scale uranium stocks that most regular U.S. investors can buy.
CCJ's importance to the U.S. and Western countries is rapidly expanding as the U.S. attempts to cut itself off from Russia and the region, which dominates the uranium market. The U.S. uranium mining industry went nearly dormant until the U.S. government's recent pivot on nuclear energy, and restarting it will take a long time.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Cameco also owns 49% of one of the largest nuclear equipment and services businesses on the planet, Westinghouse Electric. Westinghouse is reportedly in talks with U.S. officials and industry partners about deploying 10 large reactors, as part of Trump's recent nuclear energy EO.
CCJ expects 'to at least double last year's dividend of $0.12 per common share, to $0.24 per common share, over the fiscal periods 2024 through 2026, subject to annual consideration by our board.'
The company is projected to grow its adjusted earnings by 127% in FY25 and 54% in 2026. Given this backdrop, it's no wonder that 12 of the 15 brokerage recommendations Zacks has are 'Strong Buys' alongside three 'Buys.'
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Cameco soared to all-time highs on Monday after it said it would get a major boost from its stake in Westinghouse Electric. The move helped it break meaningfully above its late 2024 highs and 2007 levels.
Despite its 550% run in the past five years and charge to record highs, CCJ trades at a 27% discount to its 15-year median with a 0.88 price/earnings to growth (PEG) ratio.
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Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Constellation Energy Corporation (CEG) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Cameco Corporation (CCJ) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Meta Platforms, Inc. (META) : Free Stock Analysis Report
NuScale Power Corporation (SMR) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Oklo Inc. (OKLO) : Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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