The U.S. Just Gave $2.7 Billion to Three Uranium Companies. What Does That Mean for Nuclear Stocks?

Last year was a big year for the nuclear power industry...

The VanEck Uranium and Nuclear Fund (NLR) – which holds a basket of stocks tied to the sector, everything from utility companies to uranium miners – soared more than 50% in 2025. And some of its components did much better than that.

The rally makes sense. The political landscape is tilting more and more in favor of nuclear power...

Boosting U.S. nuclear energy has been a big part of President Donald Trump's energy platform. And that has continued into 2026.

The U.S. Department of Energy just awarded nearly $3 billion to three companies – and one of them is publicly traded.

I'll cover what this means for investors. But first, let's dive into a quick refresher on what the past 12 months have looked like for nuclear energy...

The Nuclear Renaissance of 2025

Starting off, President Trump signed several executive orders last year to boost nuclear energy production in the U.S. These included securing uranium to power the nuclear plants, as well as exporting U.S.-designed reactors and other nuclear technology.

Aside from executive orders, the government has also signed deals with companies – like an $80 billion deal with Westinghouse to build reactors across the U.S.

And it's not just the government...

Big tech companies – the ones leading the AI race – have also seen the writing on the wall. Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), and Meta Platforms (META) have all signed agreements with utility companies to secure nuclear power to fuel their AI plans.

I'm willing to bet there's more on the way. AI needs data centers... And those data centers need tons of energy. The Department of Energy estimates that AI could nearly triple data centers' power usage in the U.S. to up to 12% of all power consumed by 2028.

And the government clearly wants to use nuclear power to fuel those AI demands. Put all this together, and we're in a "golden age of nuclear," as my colleague Steven Longenecker put it.

The Latest Award from the Department of Energy

On Monday afternoon, the Department of Energy announced that it had awarded $2.7 billion to three companies for U.S.-based uranium enrichment over the next decade.

According to the agency, the award "expands U.S. capacity for low-enriched uranium ('LEU') and jumpstarts new supply chains and innovations for high-assay low-enriched uranium ('HALEU')."

The award will be split equally by privately held companies General Matter and Orano Federal Services, as well as American Centrifuge Operating – a division of publicly traded Centrus Energy (LEU).

All three companies will receive $900 million each.

Enriching more uranium in the U.S. is a big deal, both for the country and for the industry...

When uranium is mined, nearly all of it (99.3%) comes in the form of the U-238 isotope, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission ("NRC"). The rest comes in the form of the U-235 (about 0.7%) and U-234 (less than 0.01%) isotopes.

Today's reactors run on the U-235 isotope. So mined uranium needs to be "enriched" to separate the different isotopes and increase the concentration of U-235 to between 3% and 5%.

But right now, the U.S. only has one "major" enrichment facility – in New Mexico – according to Yahoo Finance. And the government is working to lower its reliance on uranium imports (which mainly come from Russia today).

That's why the U.S. is looking to expand its sources of enriched uranium. And these companies are set to benefit.

Is Centrus Energy (LEU) Stock a Buy Today?

As the only publicly traded company receiving this batch of funding, let's dive into Centrus Energy...

Centrus has its American Centrifuge enrichment plant in Piketon, Ohio. When the plant opened in 2023, it became the first U.S.-owned and U.S.-based enrichment facility to open since 1954.

That places it right at the heart of the government's domestic uranium-enrichment plans.

Based on our proprietary Stansberry Score, Centrus gets good marks. It receives a total score of 71, good for an overall grade of "B." Looking under the hood, Centrus wins "B" grades for both its financials and its capital efficiency, and it earns an "A" grade for its valuation.

Despite its "A" grade for valuation, the stock has still run up a ton over the past year. It more than tripled in 2025. So a lot of the tailwinds for uranium may already be priced in to Centrus.

But Centrus still has a large and growing backlog. As the company wrote in a December press release announcing the start of commercial uranium enrichment (instead of strictly government orders)...

Centrus has secured $2.3 billion in contracts and commitments from U.S. and international customers aimed at supporting new, U.S. uranium enrichment capacity.

Centrus is a uranium stock that's likely to keep rising during the nuclear renaissance. It has a solid Stansberry Score, and it's leading the way in U.S.-based uranium enrichment.

Other Uranium Stocks to Keep on Your Radar

We'll also take another look at uranium miner Cameco (CCJ)...

Cameco is one of the largest uranium miners in the world. And it has operations in "friendly" countries like the U.S., Canada, and Kazakhstan. That puts it at the forefront of the uranium story as the government looks to secure fuel sources outside Russia.

Like Centrus, Cameco has positioned itself as one of the government's favorite companies in the nuclear space. It was part of the government's $80 billion deal with Westinghouse earlier this year.

Cameco receives an overall rating of 72 on our Stansberry Score, with an "A" grade for its financials – but less-favorable grades of "C" on both capital efficiency and valuation. Cameco may be an established leader in the space, but it isn't cheap.

All in all, both Centrus Energy and Cameco look like solid companies based on our proprietary ratings system. And that's hard to argue with, given how much more uranium will be needed to fuel new – and restarting – reactors.

But both stocks have been prone to huge price swings. So investors should plan for volatility and keep the risk of drawdowns in mind.

And if you want to know more about the best opportunities right now, we have another story you should look into...

A renowned former hedge fund founder and his research team have found what they believe is the next big tech trend that could make investors rich.

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"Helios" is going to cause a lot of people to lose money, too. Dozens of well-known businesses could go bankrupt.

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Good investing,

Nick Koziol