Nuclear Stocks Slide Despite AI Power Demand

Nuclear stocks declined over the past year even as technology companies pursued nuclear power for AI data centers. Developers still years from commercial revenue posted steep losses, and uranium producers and suppliers also fell, leaving the Global X Uranium ETF lagging the broader energy sector fund over the same stretch. NuScale received NRC standard design approval for its 77-megawatt small modular reactor in May 2025. Oklo and Meta Platforms announced an agreement in January for a 1.2-gigawatt nuclear campus in Pike County, Ohio, with initial generation targeted as early as 2030 and full capacity potentially by 2034. Vistra drew a Department of Energy loan announcement. Alex Kimani writing for OilPrice tied investor caution to valuations, financing needs and long commercialization timelines, and cited NextEra Energy at a $161.4 billion market cap with year-to-date returns of -3.5% among utilities already selling nuclear power. Contested: none identified. Whether AI-related demand converts into commercial returns for developers on those timelines remains unresolved.