2 No-Brainer Nuclear Energy Stocks to Buy With $2,000 Right Now

Nuclear energy is making a solid comeback, driven by three powerful growth drivers: President Trump's bold policies to revive the industry, booming demand for reliable power from artificial intelligence data centers, and the secular shift from fossil fuels to clean energy.

The U.S. is already the world's largest producer of nuclear energy, but Trump wants to expand the nation's nuclear power capacity fourfold by 2050. The president has signed several executive orders to expedite nuclear reactor licensing, restart idled reactors, speed up approvals for advanced nuclear reactor projects, and increase domestic production of nuclear fuel, uranium.

Here are two no-brainer nuclear energy stocks to buy to catch the nuclear momentum.

Image source: Getty Images.

This nuclear power giant has bagged some massive deals

Since becoming a stand-alone publicly listed company in 2022 after separation from Exelon, Constellation Energy (NASDAQ: CEG) has focused exclusively on clean energy centered on nuclear power.

Today, Constellation Energy is the leading producer of carbon-free energy and operates the largest nuclear fleet in the United States. The company isn't resting on its laurels, though. It's on track to acquire Calpine in a $16.4 billion cash-and-stock deal, including $12.7 billion of Calpine's debt, to create a low-and-free-carbon energy giant with a capacity of nearly 60 gigawatts (GW). That's almost twice the owned generating capacity Constellation Energy had as of the end of 2024.

The acquisition will expand Constellation Energy's footprint in fast-growing artificial intelligence data center markets like Texas and be immediately accretive to earnings and cash flows. Meanwhile, the recent flurry of deals Constellation Energy has signed clearly shows the growing demand for nuclear energy and the company's potential.

Last year for instance, Constellation Energy signed its biggest power purchase agreement (PPA) ever with tech giant Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), agreeing to supply power to Microsoft's data centers over 20 years. It's a significant deal from the nuclear energy industry's standpoint as Constellation Energy plans to restart shuttered Unit 1 of its Three Mile Island nuclear power plant (renamed as the Crane Clean Energy Center) to provide power to Microsoft. In June this year, Constellation Energy signed another 20-year nuclear energy PPA, this time with tech behemoth Meta Platforms.

It's hard to match Constellation Energy's size and scale in nuclear power, and that alone makes it a no-brainer nuclear energy stock to buy. What's more, Constellation Energy also pays a regular dividend, raised its dividend payout by 10% earlier this year, and is aggressively repurchasing shares.

Here's how to buy many nuclear energy stocks at one go

If the dizzying rally in nuclear energy stocks has got you edgy, consider buying a nuclear energy exchange-traded fund (ETF). My top pick is the VanEck Uranium and Nuclear ETF (NYSEMKT: NLR) which offers exposure to the entire nuclear energy industry, from uranium miners to nuclear plant developers, utilities, and suppliers.

The ETF owned 28 stocks as of Sept. 30, 2025. These were its top five holdings, with the percentage of its net assets invested in each as of Oct. 20, 2025:

1. Oklo (8.63%): small modular nuclear reactors.
2. Constellation Energy (7.4%): nuclear energy power.
3. Cameco (6.92%): uranium fuel and fuel services.
4. Centrus Energy (6.57%): uranium enrichment and fuel services.
5. BWX Technologies (6%): nuclear components and services for the U.S. Navy.

As you can see, the VanEck Uranium and Nuclear ETF owns stocks of all kinds of companies from the nuclear energy industry. Morover, it's not limited to the U.S. but gives you a global exposure as it mirrors the MVIS Global Uranium &y Nuclear Energy Index. This index tracks the performance of the world's largest and most liquid nuclear and uranium companies, including companies from Australia, China, Canada, Kazakhstan, and the U.K.

Purchasing shares of the VanEck Uranium and Nuclear ETF is just like buying a stock. But through the ETF, you can invest in some of the world's largest and fastest-growing companies in the red-hot nuclear energy space. The VanEck Uranium and Nuclear ETF has a net expense ratio of 0.56% and also pays a dividend, with a 30-day SEC yield of 0.86%.

If you're a growth investor, Constellation Energy stock will appeal to you. But if you want a more balanced exposure to nuclear energy, investing partly in the stock and partly in the VanEck Uranium and Nuclear ETF could be a smart investing bet.

Neha Chamaria has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends BWX Technologies, Constellation Energy, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft. The Motley Fool recommends Cameco and recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.