Nuclear power now provides just under 10% of the global electricity supply, becoming the second-largest source of low-emission electricity in the world. This number is expected to grow significantly, as according to the International Energy Agency, over 70 GW of new nuclear capacity is under construction globally, while more than 40 countries around the world have plans to expand nuclear’s role in their energy systems. Nuclear energy also provided over 19% of the United States’ electricity in 2024, despite representing less than 8% of the country’s total operating capacity.
Nuclear power has also emerged as a forerunner for powering the ongoing AI boom and its accompanying data centers. According to the latest estimates by Deloitte, data center electricity demand could rise fivefold by 2035, reaching 176 GW. Approximately 10% of this demand is projected to be met by nuclear energy. Just last month, several tech giants met on the sidelines of the CERAWeek conference in Houston and signed a pledge to support the goal of at least tripling the world’s nuclear energy capacity by 2050.
Yet, the issue is that many of these projects will take years to construct, with some of them even a decade or more away. They also cost billions of dollars and often face challenges related to construction timelines and cost overruns, which can hinder their economic viability and competitiveness. A solution to this has emerged in the form of SMRs, or small modular reactors, that have a power capacity of up to 300 MW per unit and are quicker to build with greater scope for cost reductions. Moreover, they can be factory-built from standard parts and are touted as flexible enough to plunk down for a single customer, like a data center or an industrial complex. The IEA estimates that with the right support, SMR installations could reach 80 GW by 2040, accounting for 10% of the overall nuclear capacity globally.
Despite a record surge in demand, a large number of nuclear energy stocks have witnessed a significant decline over the last year due to the declining price of uranium, which has fallen by around 37% since January 2024. Part of this stems from increasing tensions between the US and Canada, which is the largest supplier of uranium to its southern neighbor. Another reason behind the low uranium price is believed to be the potential lifting of sanctions on Russia, which was the largest supplier of enriched uranium to the US commercial sector in 2022 and 2023.
However, the country banned the import of Russian uranium last year, with the aim of incentivizing domestic manufacturing. The Department of Energy was also awarded $2.7 billion in funding, in an attempt to spur the growth of the US nuclear fuel supply chain. As a result, five US facilities in Wyoming and Texas have spurred a 24% increase in domestic uranium production throughout 2024. Moreover, after President Trump recently ordered a probe into potentially imposing tariffs on critical mineral imports, including uranium, investors are piling in to acquire stakes in domestic uranium companies.
GE Vernova Inc. (GEV): One of the Best Nuclear Energy Stocks to Buy According to Billionaires
Our Methodology
To collect data for this article, we scanned Insider Monkey’s database of billionaires and picked the top 10 companies operating in the nuclear power sector with the highest number of hedge fund investors in Q4 of 2024. When two or more companies had the same number of billionaires investing in them, we ranked them by their market cap as of the writing of this piece. The following are the Best Nuclear Energy Stocks According to Billionaires.
At Insider Monkey, we are obsessed with the stocks that hedge funds pile into. The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).
GE Vernova Inc. (NYSE:GEV) brings together General Electric’s portfolio of energy businesses, including Power, Wind, Electrification, and Digital businesses. The company’s nuclear business, General Electric Hitachi Nuclear Energy, is a world-leading provider of advanced reactors, fuel, and nuclear services. There are currently 65 nuclear plants running on GEV’s technology in the United States.
GE Vernova Inc. (NYSE:GEV) reported a strong performance in Q1 2025 as its adjusted EPS of $0.85 beat expectations by $0.48. The company’s revenue also increased by 10.63% YoY to just over $8 billion, topping estimates by almost $483.8 million. The energy giant reported total orders of $10.2 billion in the quarter, up roughly 8%, while its total backlog now stands at a hefty $123 billion. The company management reaffirmed its full-year guidance for $36 billion to $37 billion in revenue and a high-single-digit EBITDA margin. GEV maintains a robust balance sheet, generating $1 billion in positive free cash flow in Q1, $1.6 billion more than from the same period last year. The company also repurchased shares worth $1.2 billion and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share.
GE Vernova Inc. (NYSE:GEV) continues to believe in the potential of nuclear energy, with the aim to achieve more than $2 billion in annual revenue from its small reactor business by the mid-2030s. The company expects demand for as many as 57 small reactors in total across its target markets in the US, Canada, the UK, and Europe by 2035.
Overall, GEV ranks 2nd on our list of the best nuclear energy stocks to buy according to billionaires. While we acknowledge the potential of GEV to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than GEV but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
