Cameco Is One of 2026's Biggest Winners. Here's the 3-Year Outlook.

Cameco (NYSE: CCJ), the world's second-largest uranium miner, isn't usually considered a high-growth stock. But this year, its stock has risen 26% while the S&P 500 has stayed nearly flat. It's also rallied nearly 360% over the past three years, outpacing the S&P 500's 66% gain. Let's see why Cameco crushed the market, and where its stock might be in 3 years.

Why did Cameco's stock soar?

Cameco, which is based in Canada, operates uranium mines in Canada, the U.S., and Kazakhstan. It mined roughly 15% of the world's uranium in 2025, making it the second largest uranium miner after Kazatomprom, Kazakhstan's national atomic company.

Image source: Getty Images.

Cameco, like most of its nuclear industry peers, faced unprecedented headwinds after the Fukushima disaster drove many countries to halt their nuclear programs. Uranium's year-end spot price fell from $62.25 per pound in 2011 to $35.00 in 2020, forcing Cameco to temporarily shut down its largest mines and mills to stay solvent.

However, uranium's price skyrocketed over the past few years as new decarbonization initiatives and the rapid expansion of the power-hungry cloud, AI, and data center markets drove more countries to restart their nuclear projects. Its spot price reached $84.25 at the end of this March, and Citi analysts expect it to rise to $100-$125 per pound this year.

Where will Cameco's stock be in three years?

Cameco's stock is still tightly tethered to uranium's spot price, but it's diversifying its business. Five years ago, it doubled its stake in Global Laser Enrichment (GLE) -- its uranium enrichment joint venture with Silex (OTC: SILXY) -- from 24% to 49%. By integrating GLE's laser-based uranium enrichment capabilities into its core mining and conversion businesses, Cameco could eventually become a "one-stop shop" for mining, converting, and selling enriched uranium.

Three years ago, Cameco partnered with Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE: BAM) to acquire Westinghouse Electric, one of the world's leading nuclear technology companies. That investment reduced Cameco's direct exposure to uranium prices and marked another major step toward becoming a more diversified nuclear energy company.

From 2025 to 2028, analysts expect Cameco's revenue and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) to grow at CAGRs of 8% and 12%, respectively. But with an enterprise value of $69.3 billion, it isn't cheap at 37 times this year's adjusted EBITDA -- and a market crash could quickly reduce its forward EV/EBITDA ratio.

If Cameco matches analysts' estimates through 2028, grows its adjusted EBITDA by 10% in 2029, and trades at a more reasonable 25 times its current-year EBITDA by the final year, its stock would only rise about 4% over the next three years. Even with a higher valuation, it won't come anywhere close to replicating its multibagger gains from the past three years. So even though Cameco is a reliable play on the nuclear market, its upside could be limited.

Citigroup is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Leo Sun has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Brookfield Asset Management and Cameco. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.