The 2 Best Nuclear Energy Stocks to Buy in April

Nuclear energy is a technology that's finally getting the attention it deserves, between the power needs of artificial intelligence (AI) and the fragility of global fossil fuel energy markets being laid bare by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

According to the World Nuclear Association, there are 75 nuclear reactors under construction around the world, with another 120 planned.

In all, 39 of those 75 reactors being built are in China. Japan is reactivating its nuclear grid after roughly a decade of inactivity. And the U.S. Department of Energy has set a goal to triple its nuclear output by the middle of the century.

To profit from the global nuclear renaissance, there are two stocks that stand above the rest, and each of them is worth your consideration. Let's get into it.

Image source: Getty Images.

Uranium fever

Up first is Canada's Cameco (NYSE: CCJ), the world's second-largest uranium miner by share of global production. In 2025, it produced 15% of all the 164 million pounds of uranium extracted around the world. The only larger producer is Kazakhstan's state-run Kazatomprom.

Cameco has the world's largest high-grade uranium mine in McArthur River/Key Lake. The average grade of McArthur River's deposits is 6.48%. The company also owns Cigar Lake, which is a smaller mine but much higher-grade with an average of 16.33%.

The company also engages in the fuel production side of the uranium business, converting a chunk of its own uranium ore into finished fuel rods.

Finally, it has 49% ownership of Westinghouse through a joint venture. Westinghouse is an engineering company and sells the most advanced commercially available nuclear reactor, the AP1000. So, Cameco's own uranium and fuel rods can go on to power reactors it also profits from.

Cameco is present through almost every stage of the nuclear fuel cycle. And with interest in new nuclear reactors growing, it's likely to have no shortage of business moving forward.

For the whole of 2025, Cameco's revenue grew 11% over 2024, and its diluted earnings per share (EPS) grew 246% over the same period. It also runs a net profit margin of 16.39% and has a very healthy balance sheet, with a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Cameco is up 191% over the past 12 months and 31.5% year to date in 2026. I don't see this nuclear-powered bull run slowing down anytime soon.

Small reaction, big power

One of the most interesting developments in nuclear technology in the past couple of years has been small modular reactors (SMR). These pint-sized nuclear reactors usually work the same way as their full-size counterparts but require a fraction of the land and infrastructure. More often than not, they're also designed to be built in a factory and shipped out in pieces.

They could potentially be an ideal solution to the power needs of AI data centers. Basically, you plop an SMR in the middle of a data center cluster, and it could power them without drawing from the local power grid.

While there are no SMRs in operation yet, BWX Technologies (NYSE: BWXT) has a promising design and a long history of making nuclear reactors work on a small scale.

The company got its start in the 1950s, designing components for the USS Nautilus, the world's first nuclear-powered submarine. Since then, it has built more than 400 reactors for American naval vessels.

On a ship and especially on a submarine, space is at a premium, so BWX has a wealth of experience miniaturizing nuclear power plants that few other companies can claim. There are other companies working on SMR technology, but many of them are small companies barely out of the start-up stage and generate little to no revenue.

BWX, on the other hand, has as its core business naval nuclear propulsion. And that makes it a safer way to place a bet on SMR technology. For 2025, BWX generated revenue of $3.19 billion, up 18% over 2024, and its EPS grew 20% over the same time frame. The company is also profitable, with a net margin of 10.3%.

I don't know which company will be the first to bring an operating SMR into the real world, but BWX has been getting small reactors to work at sea for decades. That gives me a good deal of confidence in the company's ability to do the same thing on land. It's certainly worth your consideration.

James Hires has positions in BWX Technologies and Cameco. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends BWX Technologies and Cameco. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.