Wall Street pushed the Nasdaq above its 50-day moving average on Thursday as big tech results poured in. The bulls continue to buy stocks as earnings results and guidance highlight the resilience and financial firepower of technology and other critical areas of the economy.
Meta and Microsoft flexed their muscles on Wednesday, following strong reports from Alphabet and Taiwan Semiconductor over the last several weeks. The recent performances are pushing the broader earnings outlook higher, helping Wall Street feel confident that the economy is not headed over a cliff.
As long as the tariff war continues to cool off and Trump and his team keep talking about progress with big trading partners and China (even if China denies it), the bulls might be ready to press higher.
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Why It’s Time to Buy Back into Beaten-Down Nuclear Energy Stocks
Quanta Services PWR stock soared 10% on Thursday after an impressive beat-and-raise first quarter release.
Quanta is an infrastructure solutions standout benefiting from the energy transition, the artificial intelligence power boom, and the overall expansion of the U.S. energy ecosystem. Quanta stock is up 190% in the past three years and is now racing back up to its all-time highs.
On top of that, Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta, and the other AI hyperscalers are pouring billions of dollars on AI-related capital spending projects despite near-term economic uncertainty.
Large data centers can consume nearly as much electricity as a midsize city, and generative AI platforms like ChatGPT use at least 10 times the energy of a typical Google search. This AI-driven energy boom is arriving just as the U.S. and major tech companies aim to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels.
Given this backdrop, big tech is all-in on nuclear energy to help add to U.S. energy capacity. The U.S. government has launched various initiatives to support the nuclear energy revival, aiming to triple capacity by 2050. The Office of Nuclear Energy, part of the U.S. Department of Energy, posted on X in April that the “U.S. nuclear renaissance starts now.”
Despite the nuclear energy push, the U.S. and big tech will have to kick things into overdrive soon to start bringing new nuclear energy capacity online in the foreseeable future.
With this in mind, today’s Full Court Finance at Zacks dives into two great nuclear energy stocks—BWX Technologies and Constellation Energy—to consider buying before their earnings reports for near-term upside and long-term artificial intelligence-boosted growth.
Buy this Under-the-Radar Nuclear Energy Stock Before Earnings?
BWX Technologies, Inc. BWXTis a pure-play nuclear technology firm ready to report its first quarter financial results on Monday, May 5.
BWXT stock trades 17% below its record highs from November. The nuclear energy stock retook its 200-day moving average on Thursday after finding support at a critical technical range in early April. Investors should also know that BWX Technologies climbed 400% in the past 15 years and more than tripled the S&P 500 over the past three years.
On the valuation front, the nuclear energy tech firm trades at a 65% discount to its highs and in line with its 10-year median, with a 2.5 price/earnings-to-growth (PEG) ratio.
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BWX Technologies is a nuclear power-focused manufacturing and engineering standout, operating across energy, defense, space exploration, and beyond. BWXT is expanding its commercial power segment and gaining ground at the cutting edge of small modular and micro nuclear reactors. BWXT is working alongside the U.S. government and other cutting-edge nuclear energy companies.
BWX Technologies has topped our earnings estimates for eight quarters in a row. Plus, the nuclear tech company is expected to grow its revenue by roughly 11% in 2025 and 2026, marking its best back-to-back years as a public company. BWXT is projected to expand its adjusted earnings by 5% in 2025 and 13% in FY26.
Is this Nuclear Stock the Best Long-Term Buy in the Entire Energy Sector?
Constellation Energy CEGwill report its quarterly results before the market opens on Tuesday, May 6. Constellation was already the largest U.S. nuclear power company before it announced a $26.6 billion deal to acquire natural gas and geothermal titan Calpine at the start of 2025.
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CEG’ acquisition creates the nation’s largest clean energy firm and expands its footprint into power-hungry, tech-heavy Texas and California. Adding natural gas is critical since it will grow in the coming decades as the U.S. and big tech race to expand energy capacity—natural gas remains by far the largest source of U.S. electricity generation (43% vs. nuclear’s 20%).
Constellation raised its dividend by 25% in 2024 and expects to increase its dividend per share by another 10% in 2025. Constellation projects “visible, double-digit long-term base EPS growth backed by the Nuclear Production Tax Credit.” The energy powerhouse is expected to grow its adjusted earnings by 10% in 2025 and 20% in 2026. Plus, its earnings estimates have jumped heading into its report.
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Constellation has soared 315% during the past three years, including its 7% pop on Thursday that helped it retake its 200-day moving average. Despite this run, CEG trades 30% below its highs. A strong report could see it storm back up to its September breakout levels after it landed a 20-year power purchase agreement with Microsoft, and then march toward its peaks.
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