NuScale Power Shares Drop Close to 20% at the Beginning of 2026

NuScale Power: Recent Stock Performance and Company Overview

NuScale Power (NYSE: SMR), a company specializing in small modular reactors (SMRs) for nuclear energy facilities, has experienced a significant downturn in its share price this year, dropping close to 20%. The stock is now trading at nearly 80% below its all-time high of $53.43 reached last October. Let’s explore the reasons behind this decline.

Understanding NuScale Power’s Business

NuScale’s SMRs are compact, measuring just 65 feet in height and nine feet in diameter. These reactors are manufactured off-site, shipped in modules, and assembled at the plant location, which helps lower construction expenses for nuclear facilities. Notably, NuScale is the only SMR producer to have received Standard Design Approvals (SDAs) from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), which gave the green light to its 77 MWe reactor design in the previous year.

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Initially, NuScale aimed to install six of its 77 MWe reactors to create a 462 MWe nuclear facility in Idaho. However, escalating costs forced the company to abandon this project in 2023. Currently, NuScale is serving as a subcontractor to Fluor (NYSE: FLR) for the construction of a similar 462 MWe plant in Romania for RoPower. The majority of NuScale’s revenue now comes from front-end engineering and design (FEED) work related to this project, which has recently secured its final investment decision. Nevertheless, the first reactors are not expected to be operational until the early 2030s.

NuScale is also returning to the U.S. market through a new partnership with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), with plans to deploy up to six gigawatts of SMR capacity across seven states. These reactors, however, are not anticipated to be online before 2032. Until its reactors are actually deployed, NuScale’s main sources of income will remain FEED studies, additional licensing agreements, and converting memorandums of understanding (MOUs) into binding contracts that generate revenue.

Key Obstacles Facing NuScale

Analysts project that NuScale’s revenue will rise sharply from $31.5 million in 2025 to $286.8 million by 2028, with net losses gradually shrinking. This anticipated growth is largely attributed to the increasing demand from sectors such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and data centers. Despite this, NuScale’s current market capitalization of $3.75 billion means it is valued at 13 times its expected 2028 revenue.

Such a high valuation might be justified if NuScale successfully brings its first reactors online in the early 2030s. However, the cancellation of the Idaho project and other setbacks indicate potential risks ahead. Ongoing global uncertainties—such as conflicts in the Middle East, inflation, and broader economic challenges—have prompted many investors to shift away from riskier stocks like NuScale in favor of safer options. This trend could continue, putting further pressure on NuScale’s already volatile share price.

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