Up Over 450% in the Past Year, Is This Stock a No-Brainer Buy Now?

Key Points

• Centrus Energy sells low-enriched uranium (LEU) to today's reactors and plans to make high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) for next-generation reactors.

• The company is profitable and has a strong cash position.

• Its enrichment capacity is limited, and it still depends on foreign sources for its LEU supply.

• 10 stocks we like better than Centrus Energy ›

Centrus Energy (NYSEMKT: LEU) has been one of several nuclear energy stocks that have crushed the market in 2025. Compared to the S&P 500's impressive 13% gain so far this year, Centrus' stock is up about 295% in 2025 at the time of writing -- and over 450% year over year.

At that yearly gain, you'd be forgiven if you thought Centrus was training large language models (LLMs) instead of enriching uranium. And yet its growth potential does have an indirect connection with artificial intelligence (AI) in that its fuel could help power the data centers behind the boom.

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With the first American-owned enrichment plant to start production in decades, Centrus finds itself at the center of an industry that hasn't seen this much interest since the 1970s. But does that make this growth stock a no-brainer buy today?

Ground floor side view of the HALEU cascade. Image source: Centrus Energy.

A unique position in nuclear fuel

Centrus operates two main businesses. The first is supplying low-enriched uranium (LEU) for today's reactors. And the second is providing technical services, including a Department of Defense (DOE) contract, to produce high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) for advanced reactors.

Of the two, the HALEU production likely offers more growth opportunity long-term. That's because many next-generation reactors -- like small modular reactors (SMR) -- are increasingly being designed to run on this fuel.

In Piketon, Ohio, it runs the only U.S.-owned enrichment facility licensed to make HALEU. Emphasis there on only: Centrus currently holds the only license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to enrich uranium above 5%. If HALEU does end up becoming the preferred fuel for future reactors, Centrus could have a first-mover advantage in the U.S. for producing it.

The first U.S. supplier of HALEU -- but with a Russian connection

But don't overlook the last part of that sentence. Although no other U.S. company is licensed to produce HALEU, there are several companies producing it worldwide, some at a much larger scale than Centrus.

One is a Russian company, Tenex, a subsidiary of the state-owned Rosatom. The funny thing about Tenex: It has a supply contract with Centrus, meaning that some of Centrus' LEU -- which it sells to reactors in the U.S. -- comes from Russian supplies. Any geopolitical risk -- or a refusal on the part of Tenex to continue supplying Centrus -- could hurt the company's ability to meet obligations.

That hasn't happened yet, however, and Centrus is likely aware of this dependence. But until it can achieve self-sufficiency in production, the Russian link to LEU remains an uncomfortable fact, especially since Tenex is also the world's go-to for HALEU.

The balance sheet and the market's bet

Usually, when I write about advanced nuclear stocks, the phrase "pre-revenue" always finds a place near "balance sheet." In this way, Centrus is ahead of the pack in that it's not only selling something (fuel) but it's actually profitable.

In the second quarter of 2025, it reported net income of $28.9 million, a slight decrease from $30.6 million a year ago. What stood out, however, was its gross profit of about $54 million -- an increase of 48% from last year -- which shows a stronger margin even as revenue declined.

LEU Net Income (Quarterly) data by YCharts

The company also ended the quarter with a hefty consolidated cash balance of $833 million and a backlog of $3.6 billion that extends to 2040.

Is now the best time to buy Centrus?

Centrus offers a rare, U.S.-based play on nuclear fuel independence at a time when governments are rethinking energy. And yet it's not an obvious buy, at least for those who want to stay away from volatility.

Bulls will point to a few major tailwinds at Centrus' back.

The first is policy. In May 2025, President Donald Trump signed a flurry of executive orders aimed at boosting the country's nuclear energy capacity, including calls for a stronger domestic supply chain of nuclear fuel. That puts Centrus in a strong position to benefit from government funding.

Meanwhile, international interest, like Centrus' recent memorandum of understanding with Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, could be stirring, especially as concerns rise over Russia's dominance of the global nuclear fuel market.

But even the bulls have to acknowledge that Centrus, though it has support, doesn't have the industrial capacity to produce enriched uranium at scale. Until expansion efforts at its Piketon plant are complete, or new capacity is turned online, Centrus will remain pretty supply-constrained for now.

Investors interested in Centrus' stock should also take note of its rich valuation. At today's price, the stock trades at 76 times forward earnings, which is several times higher than the energy sector writ large (about 16).

Clearly, investors are expecting growth. Whether or not they get it will depend on Centrus' ability to scale enrichment capacity.

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Steven Porrello has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.