NuScale Power: A Cautionary Tale

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Now, concerning this NuScale Power – a company peddlin’ small nuclear reactors, mind you – it appears February wasn’t a kind month. The stock took a tumble, a right proper fall, declinin’ by a quarter of its value, or thereabouts, accordin’ to those fellas who keep track of such things. Erased all its gains, it did, leavin’ it lower than a snake’s belly in 2026, as they say.

It’s a situation that smells a bit fishy, if you ask me. A project delayed, earnings that spooked the investors – like showin’ a ghost at a picnic – shares bein’ watered down, and analysts changin’ their tune faster than a fiddler at a barn dance. All these things conspired to send this stock lower, and keep it there.

What Ails NuScale Power?

The first blow landed in the second week of February, courtesy of a fella named Marc Bianchi over at TD Cowen. He downgraded the stock, warnin’ that their Romanian project might not come to fruition ’til 2034. 2034! Why, I’ll likely be tellin’ tales from the hereafter by then.

NuScale is buildin’ these small modular reactors, called VOYGR, based on their own design. RoPower, a partnership between Nuclearelectrica and Nova Power, is currently their only customer – a precarious position, wouldn’t you say? The original plan called for a plant to be operational in Romania by 2029 or 2030.

Nuclearelectrica shareholders did approve the project’s final investment decision, which allows NuScale to seek financing. Good news, that. But the first module won’t be workin’ ’til 2033, maybe 2034. Four years behind schedule. And Bianchi rightly pointed out the risk of failure, which, in this business, is a rather substantial concern.

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Meanwhile, Fluor, a large engineering firm and NuScale’s biggest shareholder, is sellin’ off its shares, intendin’ to exit the company altogether by summer. They’re unloadin’ ’em like a peddler sellin’ damaged goods. On February 13th, they sold 71 million shares at around $19.05 apiece.

Later in the month, NuScale released its fourth-quarter and full-year results, and that sent the stock into another tailspin.

Can NuScale Fall Further?

Investors were flabbergasted by a $507.4 million payment to ENTRA1 Energy, NuScale’s commercialization partner. A half-billion dollars, mind you, spent before a single plant is even built! The operating loss nearly reached $690 million, compared to a mere $139 million the year before. A considerable difference, wouldn’t you agree?

Several analysts have slashed their price targets, and the company is facin’ a heap of investor lawsuits, accusin’ ’em of misrepresentin’ ENTRA1 Energy’s capabilities. A right mess, it seems.

This February sell-off has fundamentally altered the story around NuScale Power. Small modular reactors do offer some advantages over the old-fashioned behemoths. But NuScale is still years away from actually sellin’ its technology, and these losses, share dilution, and legal troubles aren’t helpin’ its case. A cautious approach is advised, gentlemen. A very cautious approach indeed. There’s a lesson here, if folks are willin’ to learn it: sometimes, the shiniest promises are just fool’s gold.

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2026-03-08 21:35