NuScale Power Is Down 30% in 2026. Here's 1 Reason to Buy Now and 2 Reasons to Wait for a Bigger Dip.

Electricity demand is rising, and nuclear power is increasingly seen as a solution to the growing need for baseload power. The numbers are shocking, with technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and electric vehicles expected to drive a six-fold increase in electricity demand. NuScale Power (NYSE: SMR) has a novel nuclear power technology that could be very attractive, but the company still needs to nail down its first sale.

Why buy NuScale Power?

NuScale Power is a money-losing start-up, but the opportunity here could be huge. Small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) are factory-built, small enough to be transported to where they are needed, and can be placed in relatively close proximity to population centers, given modern safety standards. This makes them a perfect fit for AI data centers. However, the company's SMRs are also designed to be linked together, enabling them to provide a solution for utilities looking to develop new nuclear power plants.

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Buying NuScale Power now will get you in early in the development process. The 30% drop in the share price in 2026 is worth noting, since it highlights the risk you take when buying a company that's still quite young. But aggressive investors willing to buy for the long term will also be maximizing their long-term growth opportunity by stepping in before the company is sustainably profitable.

Two reasons to wait before buying NuScale Power

The easy reason to suggest waiting to buy NuScale Power is, of course, that it isn't yet sustainably profitable. But there are actually two other, more important reasons.

The first reason to wait is that NuScale Power hasn't yet signed a definitive agreement to sell one of its nuclear reactors. It has irons in the fire that are very promising. For example, it is working with a Romanian power company that wants to buy six NuScale reactors, but the money for the purchase hasn't been lined up yet. That one is still up in the air. NuScale is also working with the Tennessee Valley Authority and ENTRA1 Energy, but that deal is still in the early stages, as well. Until there's a confirmed sale, NuScale Power can't even take on the second big reason to wait.

The second reason to hold off on buying NuScale is that it hasn't proven it can profitably build an SMR. Or that its SMRs will operate reliably once built. So even after the first signed-on-the-dotted-line sale, there's still a lot more that has to be done here before the company's business model can be considered sustainable.

Only aggressive growth investors should be looking at NuScale Power

There's no question that NuScale Power has an exciting nuclear power technology. If that technology gains traction, the stock could be a huge winner. However, there's no firm SMR sale yet, and there's no way to know if the SMRs it builds will be reliable until they are actually being used. Most investors should probably keep this one on the watch list, with the risk of investing here probably only appropriate for the most aggressive of aggressive growth investors.

Reuben Gregg Brewer has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends NuScale Power. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.