Shares of uranium producers soared Monday after President Donald Trump signed a sweeping executive order on Friday aimed at rebuilding America's nuclear energy capacity and breaking reliance on foreign uranium sources, a move that marks the biggest federal intervention in nuclear power policy in decades.
The policy outlines an aggressive roadmap to rebuild the domestic nuclear fuel supply chain, restart shuttered reactors, expand uranium enrichment and conversion capabilities, and fast-track licensing of advanced nuclear reactor designs.
It also includes goals to have 10 new large-scale reactors under construction by 2030 and deliver 5 gigawatts of uprated capacity from existing plants.
Read also: Trump Sparks Uranium Frenzy: Nuclear ETFs See Explosive Gains
Cameco Leads The Rally
Cameco Corp. (NYSE:CCJ) rallied over 10% in Canadian trading Monday, marking its biggest single-day gain since August 2022.
In a note on Friday, Goldman Sachs analyst Brian Lee, CFA expects the move to be a meaningful tailwind for companies in the nuclear fuel supply chain.
"We maintain a constructive view on the nuclear opportunity, both near-to-medium term as it relates to the fuel supply and upstream portion of the value chain," Lee said.
“We note this would likely be a longer term tailwind,” Lee added.
He reiterated a Buy rating on Cameco, emphasizing its direct exposure to rising uranium demand and a strategic 49% stake in Westinghouse.
"We view the Westinghouse segment would likely see an uplift as construction on new nuclear plants begins," Lee said.
The expert is also optimistic on NuScale Power Corp. (NYSE:SMR) as advanced technologies like Small Modular Reactors, or SMRs, are also getting a boost from the Trump’s executive order.
Why Nuclear? A Global Comeback Story
Nuclear energy currently accounts for 18% of the U.S. electricity mix and around 9% of global power generation, according to Goldman Sachs.
Despite its role as a clean and stable energy source, the sector has seen years of stagnation. Safety concerns following high-profile disasters like Chernobyl and Fukushima, regulatory delays, and the rapid growth of solar and wind technologies slowed investment and development.
Meanwhile, the median age of the world's nuclear reactors now stands at approximately 32 years, underscoring the urgent need for modernization. That picture is beginning to change.
Driven by surging power demand from electrification, electric vehicles, and data centers, as well as concerns over energy security and reliability, countries are reevaluating nuclear power.
Goldman Sachs estimates global nuclear capacity will rise from 378 gigawatts today to 575 gigawatts by 2040, lifting its share of the global electricity mix to 12%. That's a 200-gigawatt increase, largely fueled by a combination of large-scale builds and new technologies such as Small Modular Reactors.
Nuclear’s value proposition lies in its unique combination of zero-emissions output and high reliability.
Unlike intermittent renewable sources like solar and wind, nuclear offers continuous, baseload power with a high capacity factor--often above 90%--comparable to coal and natural gas but without the carbon emissions.
"It is one of the cleanest sources of power generation and one of the most reliable," said Lee.
Read now:
- Uranium Stocks Surge: Trump’s Nuclear Push Sparks Double-Digit Gains
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