Share prices of NuScale Power (SMR +7.64%) recently hit all-time highs around $36 per share. Up more than 250% over the past year, is the stock a buy at what are historically lofty price levels?
Here are a few things to consider before you buy shares in this nuclear power start-up.
What does NuScale Power do?
NuScale Power has big plans for its business, but right now it doesn't really have that much of a business. That's because it only brought in revenue of $13 million in the first quarter of 2025. That came with roughly $6 million in costs, leading to a gross profit of about $7 million.
With research and development costs of $9 million and selling, general, and administrative costs of $23 million, the company is nowhere near turning a profit.
Image source: Getty Images.
That's not surprising, however, given what it is trying to do. It has developed plans for a small-scale modular nuclear reactor.
Basically, it has taken current nuclear reactor technology and scaled it down. The result is a reactor that can be partially pre-built in a factory and transported to a site, which should reduce costs and complexity, and save huge amounts of time relative to the building of a large nuclear reactor on site. Its modular reactors also incorporate the latest technology, which should increase the safety of the reactors as well.
NuScale's small modular reactors could represent a sea change in the way the world thinks about and uses nuclear power. Indeed, the modular units can be transported to where they are needed, used in closer proximity to large populations, and linked together to create a larger power source. It is an exciting concept. But right now, that's all it is: a concept.
NYSE: SMR
Key Data Points
NuScale has the wind at its back, if things go as planned
The current administration in Washington appears to be very supportive of nuclear power as a source of carbon-free energy. Some executive orders from the Trump administration in May led to a swift increase in the stock price. It is now back near 52-week highs. But that's not the only reason to be optimistic here, given that it has a tentative deal to sell six of its reactors to RoPower, a Romanian power company.
It is currently working on feasibility studies to help RoPower make a final investment decision later this year. If this capital investment project gets the green light, NuScale Power will have its first official customer. That should help it land more. The company is, in fact, already preparing for additional customers, with orders for enough long-lead-time parts to build 12 of its reactors.
Data by YCharts.
The only problem is that the RoPower project won't be complete until something like 2030. So there's still a lot of time to go before the company's small modular nuclear reactors are actually market tested.
And that means that it will likely remain a story stock for at least a few more years. Story stocks tend to be very volatile, especially when they are small start-ups.
As the chart above highlights, NuScale stock fell over 50% from an early-year peak in 2025 before rebounding on the news out of Washington. And before that, it had several large drawdowns as well. This is not a stock for conservative investors. And if you buy it now, you had better be ready for a bumpy ride and have a strong belief in the glass-half-full view of the future.
Well below $31 is probably the right call
NuScale Power is getting close to an important inflection point for its business as its first potential customer nears the yes/no decision on a major capital investment project. The stock will likely rally if the answer is yes. But that doesn't mean the shares won't see yet another steep drawdown, which are kind of common events for small start-ups.
If you have a positive long-term view of the business, buying around the current price might make sense. But if you are patient, it seems likely you'll have an opportunity to buy at a potentially much lower price as NuScale's story plays out.
