NuScale Power (NYSE: SMR) is an industrial company that is still early on but whose share price has skyrocketed in 2024. Shares are up nearly 270% this year, yet the company generated just $1 million in revenue last quarter. I'll dive into what NuScale does and what I ultimately think about the stock.
NuScale: A First Mover in Small Modular Reactors
NuScale is a nuclear power company, but it approaches nuclear power in a nontraditional way. The company specializes in making Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), which are much smaller than traditional ones. They produce less energy but can theoretically be built faster.
So far, there are few SMRs operating worldwide. One in China took around nine years to finish construction. China expects to complete another project in 2026, with a construction time of around five years. The most recently built large nuclear reactors in the US, the VOGTLE 3 and 4, took just over 10 years to construct.
SMRs may have many significant advantages over large reactors. First, companies can construct them closer to where the energy is needed. This decreases the amount of energy lost in transfer because the electricity doesn't have to travel as far from its generation point.
It also allows companies to expand the network of reactors over time. This can help meet the needs of certain regions more ...
