When Meta Platforms signed a long-term nuclear power agreement with Constellation Energy, the reaction wasn’t limited to one utility stock. It sent a clear message to investors: the future of artificial intelligence infrastructure is tied to reliable, carbon-free baseload power. And that’s exactly what nuclear provides.

Over the following sessions, equities tied to the nuclear energy supply chain surged, with analyst upgrades projecting gains as high as 94%. Notably, this isn’t speculative hype — it’s a response to tangible demand signals from Big Tech, which now views nuclear energy as a strategic necessity.

What’s happening now mirrors previous moments when emerging technologies reshaped adjacent sectors. During the early 2000s, the rise of broadband transformed telecom infrastructure. In the 2010s, electric vehicles created explosive growth in lithium, copper, and cobalt. AI is likely to do something similar for electricity — but not just any electricity. What it needs is scale, consistency, and zero emissions.

Nuclear offers all three. For the first time in over a decade, the sector is positioned not as a fallback option, but as a primary engine of future industrial growth. That may be why some of these stocks are just getting started.

AI's Energy Problem Has a Nuclear-Sized Solution

Training and operating modern AI models, particularly large language models like Meta’s LLaMA and inference engines for real-time applications, requires vast computational resources. These data centers consume exponentially more power than those built for cloud storage or video streaming just a few years ago.

Renewables like solar and wind help, but their variability creates gaps AI systems can’t afford. Unlike web servers or batch compute, AI infrastructure often runs 24/7, requiring predictable power output at scale. That’s where nuclear comes in. It runs continuously, with a capacity factor over 90%, and emits no carbon.

The Meta-Constellation deal put this need into the spotlight. The market responded by identifying likely second-order beneficiaries.

The Stocks Catching Bids

A wave of upgrades followed Meta’s announcement, targeting firms across the nuclear value chain:

• BWX Technologies (BWXT) saw its outlook raised due to its role in engineering and reactor components, with projected upside of 68%.
• Centrus Energy (LEU), key to advanced fuel enrichment, was forecast for up to 94% gains, assuming sustained commercial demand for HALEU.
• NuScale Power (SMR), long a speculative bet on modular reactors, has been repositioned by analysts as a near-term infrastructure supplier, with 81% potential upside.
• Energy Fuels Inc. (UUUU) and Cameco Corp. (CCJ) are also rising, riding the expectation that uranium pricing and long-term procurement contracts will benefit from AI-driven power demand.

While these companies have different roles, the market thesis is unified: AI’s growth curve is now an energy story too.

From Energy Asset to Digital Infrastructure Partner

The Meta deal marks a transition for nuclear from a policy-dependent sector to one driven by commercial demand. That’s a critical shift. For over a decade, nuclear equities depended on government subsidies, public perception, and uranium prices. They traded like commodities with a regulatory overlay.

But Big Tech’s direct engagement with nuclear power introduces corporate procurement as a new demand base, one that is less volatile and more capital-intensive. Long-term power purchase agreements provide revenue visibility — the kind typically associated with pipelines, toll roads, or telecom infrastructure.

This aligns nuclear stocks more closely with the infrastructure category of investment rather than speculative energy plays. It also invites a different class of investor: pensions, sovereign funds, and asset managers looking for stable, regulated, long-term yield exposure in an uncertain macro environment.