In April, the U.S. Energy Department announced an initiative to work with the domestic nuclear energy industry to build out a fuel supply chain and accelerate advanced reactor deployment.
The announcement came a little less than a year after President Donald Trump issued executive orders designed to boost the U.S. nuclear energy industry.
“The long-term success of efforts to put more power on the grid through nuclear power plant updates, restarts and the commercial deployment of advanced reactors will all depend on the availability of nuclear fuel,” the Energy Department said in its April announcement.
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The developments are part of a global renaissance in nuclear power. The Trump administration is emphasizing the nuclear buildout to power growth in industrial manufacturing and data centers to support artificial intelligence computing. But the increasing interest in nuclear power also comes at a time when governments and businesses are seeking to power more of their economies with non-fossil-fuel sources in the face of greenhouse gas-fueled climate change.
“AI is currently driving increased electricity demand, and nuclear energy remains one of the few scalable, reliable, low-carbon solutions,” says Andrew Izyumov, CEO and co-founder of 8Figures, an AI investment advisor and portfolio tracker.
The nuclear industry’s growth goes well beyond the U.S., says Vince Stanzione, CEO at First Information, a publisher of educational materials related to financial spread betting and derivatives trading.
“I’m cautious about some of the overly optimistic forecasts for U.S. power demand from AI and data centers,” he says. “For me, the real growth will come from emerging markets moving away from fossil fuels. In many of those countries, air conditioning is still a luxury item, and India’s electricity demand growth is being driven heavily by rising A/C use.”
The interest in nuclear power goes beyond AI infrastructure and powering everyday life, though.
“An uptick in geopolitical conflicts has put energy independence into focus for many countries across the globe,” says Alex Riedel, head of client portfolio management at Advyzon Investment Management. “Nuclear offers the added benefit of less dependence on foreign oil and natural gas.”
The push to build out uranium supply chains is being referred to as a nuclear renaissance in part because governments around the world turned away from nuclear following a 2011 reactor accident in Japan. Uranium prices collapsed, and mining companies lowered their spending, crimping uranium production.
There has also long been pushback among environmentalists against nuclear because of the waste issue. But nuclear power generally has a safe track record, is highly regulated and is gaining more support from environmentalists because it offers a stable source of power for the grid without emitting greenhouse gases.
Now, dozens of reactors are under construction around the world. Plus, advanced reactors and an emerging technology called small modular reactors (SMRs) are in the works.
At the core of all this nuclear expansion is uranium, a radioactive element that is mined and then enriched into the U-235 isotope used by most commercial nuclear power reactors operating or under construction.
With renewed interest, uranium prices have risen again, helping established producers while other types of companies are also benefiting from government-policy tailwinds.
With all that in mind, here are some ways investors can add a glow to their portfolios with uranium:
— Uranium stocks.
— Uranium ETFs.
— Uranium futures.
— Physical uranium and royalties.
Uranium Stocks
Stocks of uranium mining companies offer one of the most straightforward ways to invest.
During times of rising uranium prices, miners can outperform the metal because of how those companies use operating leverage to increase profits. Their shares can also benefit from company-specific developments such as new mine discoveries and technological advancements.
The premier uranium mining company in the West is Canada’s Cameco Corp. (ticker: CCJ), which says it controls the world’s biggest high-grade reserves. It also has interests across the nuclear fuel cycle.
Other uranium miners include Energy Fuels Inc. (UUUU), Denison Mines Corp. (DNN), Uranium Energy Corp. (UEC) and Fission Uranium Corp. (OTC: FCUUF).
Diversified miners that also extract substantial quantities of uranium are BHP Group Ltd. (BHP) and Rio Tinto Group (RIO). Investing in companies like these offers some exposure to uranium while at the same time providing a cushion if prices for that commodity fall.
“Large mining companies can offer strong balance sheets and a record of profitability,” says Riedel.
At the same time, that cushion means these behemoths aren’t as likely to perform as well as smaller companies focused exclusively on the radioactive metal if uranium prices rise.
Investing in mining companies also comes with company-specific risks, such as cost overruns, labor disputes, permitting uncertainties, bad management decisions, political issues or security concerns.
Matt Gallagher, founder and managing member of registered investment advisory Odinic Advisors, points out that the uranium industry goes beyond mining companies. In addition to miners, the fuel cycle also includes conversion, enrichment, fuel fabrication and nuclear power plants.
In addition to Cameco for mining and other parts of the fuel cycle, investors can consider Solstice Advanced Materials Inc. (SOLS) for exposure to conversion and BWX Technologies Inc. (BWXT) for military reactor vessels, fuel production, SMR component manufacturing and microreactor design targeting data centers and remote sites, Gallagher says.
Uranium ETFs
For uranium stock investors, company-specific risks can be offset by bundling lots of different companies under one ticker symbol, as exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, do.
“I generally prefer diversified ETFs over concentrated single-stock positions, as this approach supports more balanced portfolio construction,” Izyumov says.
The largest uranium ETFs trading on U.S. exchanges are the Global X Uranium ETF (URA) and the Sprott Uranium Miners ETF (URNM). The Global X offering invests in companies involved in uranium mining and nuclear industry component production, and the Sprott fund buys shares in companies involved in mining, exploration, development and production of uranium and those that hold physical uranium, uranium royalties or engage in other non-mining activities that support the uranium mining industry.
URNM is Stanzione’s preferred way to invest in uranium, as it gives investors exposure to both producers and the Sprott Physical Uranium Trust (OTC: SRUUF), which tracks the spot price of uranium.
[Read: 7 Best Mining and Metals ETFs to Buy in 2026]
Uranium Futures
Much of the commercial uranium pricing activity happens in long-term contracts between companies, making pricing less visible than in other markets governed by more active spot and futures pricing.
That’s not to say there are no uranium futures available.
CME Group Inc. (CME) offers monthly contracts priced in U.S. dollars per pound. Each contract unit is 250 pounds, and contracts are financially settled, meaning you can’t take physical delivery of the highly regulated metal.
But these futures contracts have little trading volume compared with oil or gold futures, meaning investors who want to sell their holdings might have to wait longer than they’d like, which can be frustrating if prices are falling and you want to limit losses or if prices are rising and you want to take profits.
Even though futures allow for direct price exposure, are useful for hedging price movements and can offer significant returns, they can also be complex and highly volatile. Plus, you’ll have to get special permission from your broker to trade futures.
Uranium futures give investors the most potential upside but also subject them to extreme volatility and liquidation risk if prices decline, Gallagher says.
Physical Uranium and Royalties
Investors can also get financial exposure to uranium through vehicles that invest in physical uranium, helping keep supplies tight and putting upward pressure on uranium prices to complement expected increases in demand from nuclear power plants as the energy transition gains steam.
Units of the Sprott Physical Uranium Trust can be bought or sold just like equity shares, and each one represents a physical amount of uranium held by the trust.
Yellow Cake PLC (OTC: YLLXF) is a company that holds physical uranium oxide and doesn’t have the exploration, development, mining or processing risks that miners do. It has a long-term agreement with Kazakhstan-based miner National Atomic Co. Kazatomprom JSC (OTC: NATKY) that enables it to buy uranium at favorable prices.
Uranium Royalty Corp. (UROY) invests in uranium companies in exchange for royalties or other interests. It also makes physical uranium purchases.
Gallagher points out that ETFs that own the physical uranium are riskier than equity ETFs or individual stocks. While they do give investors commodity-level exposure and potential upside, that also comes with volatility.
“The volatility of a metal like uranium can be great and beholden to the changing whims of policymakers,” Riedel says. “Still, the rising demand for energy, the growing preference for carbon-free energy like nuclear and the current supply deficit make a strong case for uranium to play a role in the alternatives sleeve of an overall portfolio.”
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Uranium Stocks, ETFs and Other Ways to Invest in the Nuclear Fuel originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 05/11/26: This story was published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.