Stocks of nuclear firms backed by Trump administration incentives have fallen

Most nuclear firms fell after receiving US support

US nuclear companies that received a federal loan, contract or other support from the Trump administration have mostly seen their share prices drop since the announcement, according to a review by Protos.

Over the past year, the administration has directed tens of billions of dollars in incentives to the nuclear industry. The review, published on October 5, tracks how nine publicly traded companies performed after each award or deal was announced.

The scores of billions on offer

• A $4.2 billion federal loan to Vistra, the operator of an Ohio nuclear plant, announced in October. Vistra's shares are down 9% year to date.
• A proposed $80 billion partnership between Cameco and Brookfield Asset Management in which the US government would receive 20% of future profits or equity. Cameco is down 3% year to date.
• Up to $25 billion of US-Japanese investment under a trade deal, going to ENTRA1 Energy, a private partner of NuScale. NuScale's stock is down 81% since its October 29 announcement.
• A $1 billion loan to Constellation Energy to restart its Crane plant in Pennsylvania, secured in November 2025. Constellation is down 19% since that news.
• A $900 million uranium enrichment task order won by Centrus Energy in January. Its shares are down 54% since.
• A conditional $17.5 billion loan offered in June for equipment on 10 Westinghouse reactors, co-owned by Cameco. Cameco is down 15% since June 23.
• Another $1 billion in Energy Department cost-sharing for X-energy, reported on August 17. The stock trades below $15, compared with a $23 IPO price in April.
• Up to $2.2 billion awarded by the US Army on August 26 to microreactor builders including BWX Technologies, whose stock has traded flat since, after losing more than 20% year to date.
• A federal loan of up to $1.9 billion to NextEra Energy to restart Iowa's only nuclear plant, closed on September 8. NextEra's stock fell 7% within four weeks.

Holtec, which owns a Michigan nuclear plant, received a $400 million Energy Department award in December 2025 after drawing at least six payments from a $1.52 billion guarantee finalized by the Biden administration. The company then suspended its initial public offering, or sale of shares to the public, for retail investors this month.

One deal briefly lifted shares before they fell further

The Cameco and Brookfield partnership is the one case where stocks rose sharply on the news. Shares jumped 22% when the deal was announced in October 2025. But they are now 12% lower than on that announcement day, and Brookfield Asset Management, the other party to the deal, has lost 15% year to date and has performed worse still measured from the October date.

Where the reporting comes from

Protos compiled the figures using company announcements and financial press coverage. Cameco, the Energy Department, NuScale and X-energy each provided links to their own statements. The loan amounts, contract awards and dates are drawn from those official releases and from Reuters, Politico, American Nuclear Society, Utility Dive, Morningstar and a Fidelity news page linked in the article.

One characterization in the coverage comes from Politico, which described ENTRA1 Energy as a three-year-old startup with a skeleton staff. That is a description reported by another outlet, not a statement in the supplied material from the company itself.

What the data shows and what it does not

Confirmed by the cited sources: the award and loan amounts, their dates, and the share price moves reported at the time of writing. The pattern described by Protos holds for every company it lists except BWX Technologies, where the stock has traded flat.

Not established by the supplied material: why the share prices fell. The review reports a correlation between government support and later declines. It does not show that the support caused the drops, and it does not rule out other market factors. The figures are also point-in-time snapshots rather than a controlled study.

Holtec's stock is not listed with a price figure because its public offering was suspended.

Why the timing matters

The contrast is the point of the review. Federal support was widely presented as a lift for the sector, yet most of the listed companies have traded lower since receiving it. For readers watching the industry, that means the size of a loan or contract does not by itself show how the market has judged the company. This article describes past price moves only and makes no forecast.

Sources

• Protos

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