Why Mirion Technologies Rallied Double Digits Today

Shares of radiation detection equipment provider Mirion Technologies (NYSE: MIR) rallied 18.2% on Wednesday as of 2:23 p.m. ET.

Mirion's traditional radiation detection business has been in medical applications; however, with the recent push to boost nuclear energy to support the artificial intelligence (AI) data center buildout, the company's radiation detection equipment is finding a new leg of growth, as yesterday's earnings report showed.

Mirion beats on SMR strength

In the third quarter, Mirion posted 7.9% revenue growth to $223.1 million, with 50% growth in non-GAAP (adjusted) earnings per share to $0.12. Both of those figures came in ahead of expectations.

For the year, the company projects 7% to 9% growth, with about 1 percentage point of that growth coming from recent acquisitions targeted at the nuclear segment. Management also projects $0.50 of adjusted EPS at the midpoint and adjusted free cash flow between $100 million and $115 million, with the bottom end of the guidance having been raised since last quarter.

The good news for shareholders is that Mirion's nuclear segment is both higher-growth and also the larger segment, growing 9% last quarter to $144.6 million and comprising nearly two-thirds of overall revenue, while the medical segment only grew 5.9%.

Importantly, Mirion also reported a 21% increase in its nuclear safety segment order book, powered by a significant order for a small modular reactor customer. While the medical order book fell, leading only to modest overall order growth, it appears investors are concentrating on the nuclear-related business.

That's with good reason though, given the prospects for longer-term AI-related growth in that segment.

Image source: Getty Images.

Mirion is another highly valued nuclear play

Everything related to nuclear energy has really taken off over the past year, and Mirion is no exception, up a whopping 70.3% for 2025, and currently trading over 70 times this year's adjusted free-cash-flow estimates.

That's a really expensive valuation for a company that, even with these strong nuclear buildout assumptions, only expects mid-single digit organic growth this year. As with many stocks involved in nuclear energy or other critical minerals, investors should be cautious regarding valuations in this space, even as there appear to be legitimate tailwinds.

Billy Duberstein and/or his clients have 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.