Key Factors
Centrus Vitality (NYSE: LEU), one of many few U.S. firms licensed to promote low-enriched uranium (LEU), noticed its inventory skyrocket greater than 7,200% over the previous decade. Let’s examine why this nuclear power inventory soared — and the place it’d head over the following ten years.
Why did Centrus’ inventory soar?
The Fukushima catastrophe in 2011 disrupted nuclear power progress for greater than a decade, as extra international locations paused their nuclear energy tasks. These headwinds curbed the market’s demand for LEU, the gasoline utilized in most business nuclear reactors.
Will AI create the world’s first trillionaire? Our group simply launched a report on the one little-known firm, known as an “Indispensable Monopoly” offering the crucial know-how Nvidia and Intel each want. Proceed »
Picture supply: Getty Photos.
Centrus initially enriched its personal LEU on a business scale at its U.S. crops, nevertheless it shut down these services in 2023 as a result of it grew to become cheaper to easily import enriched uranium. That 12 months additionally marked the top of the “Megatons to Megawatts” program — a deal between the U.S. and Russia that allowed enriched weapons supplies from dismantled Russian warheads to be downblended into LEU and offered to middlemen resellers like Centrus.
These adjustments, together with the decade-long drought in nuclear demand, lowered Centrus’ income from $1.86 billion in 2012 to $193 million in 2018. But from 2018 to 2025, its income grew at a 13% CAGR to $449 million as a number of tailwinds kicked in.
The nuclear power market stabilized as extra international locations launched new decarbonization initiatives, the power-hungry information heart, cloud, and AI markets expanded, and extra firms launched safer, extra environment friendly reactors to satisfy that demand. Because the market expanded, Centrus started enriching its personal high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU) for superior reactors, which it offered in restricted portions by way of small-scale authorities contracts.
What’s going to occur over the following ten years?
The world’s nuclear capability may increase by as much as 2.6 occasions from 2024 to 2050, based on the Worldwide Atomic Vitality Company (IAEA). The HALEU market must also develop a lot quicker than the broader LEU market.
On the finish of 2025, Centrus had a complete backlog of $3.8 billion extending by way of 2040. From 2025 to 2028, analysts anticipate its income and adjusted earnings earlier than curiosity, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) to develop at CAGRs of 5% and 22%, respectively. Nevertheless, its inventory is not a screaming discount at 9 occasions this 12 months’s gross sales.
If Centrus matches Wall Road’s estimates, grows its income at a 5% CAGR by way of 2036, however trades at a extra affordable 5 occasions gross sales by the ultimate 12 months, its inventory would really decline 5% over the following ten years. So whereas the nuclear market’s latest enlargement drove Centrus’ inventory increased over the previous decade, it may battle to take care of that momentum.
Must you purchase inventory in Centrus Vitality proper now?
Before you purchase inventory in Centrus Vitality, contemplate this:
The Motley Idiot Inventory Advisor analyst group simply recognized what they imagine are the 10 finest shares for traders to purchase now… and Centrus Vitality wasn’t one in all them. The ten shares that made the reduce may produce monster returns within the coming years.
Take into account when Netflix made this record on December 17, 2004… if you happen to invested $1,000 on the time of our suggestion, you’d have $532,066!* Or when Nvidia made this record on April 15, 2005… if you happen to invested $1,000 on the time of our suggestion, you’d have $1,122,072!*
Now, it’s value noting Inventory Advisor’s whole common return is 959% — a market-crushing outperformance in comparison with 193% for the S&P 500. Do not miss the newest high 10 record, obtainable with Inventory Advisor, and be part of an investing group constructed by particular person traders for particular person traders.
See the ten shares »
*Inventory Advisor returns as of March 5, 2026.
Leo Solar has no place in any of the shares talked about. The Motley Idiot has no place in any of the shares talked about. The Motley Idiot has a disclosure coverage.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the writer and don’t essentially replicate these of Nasdaq, Inc.
