Got $5,000? The Smartest Way to Invest in the Nuclear Boom.
Key Points
BWX dominates crucial parts of North America’s nuclear supply chain.
Its backlog is growing, and its stock still looks reasonably valued.
The nuclear energy market fizzled out for more than a decade after the 2011 Fukushima disaster. Many countries paused their nuclear projects, the price of uranium plummeted, and many uranium miners and nuclear energy companies shut down.
But over the past few years, the nuclear market warmed up again. New decarbonization initiatives, safer nuclear technologies, and the rapid growth of the power-hungry cloud infrastructure, artificial intelligence (AI), and data center markets all fueled that recovery.
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The global nuclear energy market could grow at a 4.9% CAGR from 2026 to 2033, according to Grand View Research, as those tailwinds persist. One simple way to invest in that expansion is through BWX Technologies (NYSE: BWXT). Let's see why this oft-overlooked nuclear stock is still a safe place to park a $5,000 investment today.
What does BWX Technologies do?
BWX, which was spun off from Babcock & Wilcox (NYSE: BW) in 2015, is the only large-scale producer of specialized nuclear components, fuel systems, and naval reactor systems in North America. It's one of the few companies licensed to work with regulated nuclear materials, handle high-assay enriched uranium (HALEU) and tri-structural isotropic (TRISO) fuel, run large precision nuclear fabrication facilities, and develop naval reactor components for the U.S. Navy.
That scale and diversification make BWX a bellwether of the nuclear market. It's also a linchpin of the industry, since it dominates irreplaceable parts of North America's nuclear supply chain. BWX generates most of its revenue from the defense sector, so it was better insulated from the post-Fukushima slowdown in commercial nuclear spending.
From 2021 to 2025, BWX's revenue and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) grew at CAGRs of 11% and 8%, respectively. That growth was supported by new Navy orders, a recovering commercial sector, its growing uranium-processing business, and two major acquisitions in 2025.
It also started providing engineering support services for developers of small modular reactors (SMRs). At the end of 2025, BWX's backlog grew 50% year over year to $7.3 billion, driven by orders for its naval propulsion components, commercial nuclear power components, and special materials.
From 2025 to 2028, analysts expect BWX's revenue and adjusted EBITDA to grow at CAGRs of 12% and 11%, respectively. With an enterprise value of $17.4 billion, it still looks reasonably valued at 27 times this year's adjusted EBITDA. So if you're looking for a simple way to profit from the nuclear market's growth, BWX checks all the right boxes.
Leo Sun has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends BWX Technologies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.