LEU Unveils Bold Expansion Plans: Solid Roadmap Ahead?

Centrus Energy LEU has unveiled ambitious plans to significantly expand its uranium enrichment plant in Piketon, OH to boost the production of Low-Enriched Uranium (LEU) and High-Assay, Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU). This project will mark a significant step in restoring America’s ability to enrich uranium at scale. 

The scope of the expansion depends on Centrus Energy securing funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The DOE is currently reviewing proposals to expand domestic production of LEU for existing reactors and HALEU for advanced reactors. Centrus Energy’s multi-billion-dollar plan requires public and private investment and involves adding thousands of additional centrifuges at the plant to enable large scale production.  

To prepare for this expansion, Centrus Energy has already raised more than $1.2 billion through two convertible note offerings over the last 12 months and has secured more than $2 billion in contingent purchase commitments from utility customers. Centrus Energy also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (“KHNP”) and POSCO International, a subsidiary of POSCO PKX, to bring private capital into the Piketon expansion. 
The collaboration with KHNP and POSCO also offers other opportunities, such as additional supply agreements for LEU and HALEU. Notably, POSCO International is also advancing a next-generation High-Temperature Gas Reactor powered by HALEU.

Centrus Energy’s expansion plan is expected to generate 1,000 construction jobs and 300 new operations jobs at the Piketon site. Beyond Ohio, the project is expected to support hundreds of jobs at its centrifuge manufacturing plant in Tennessee and throughout its manufacturing supply chain as well as generate indirect jobs across the country.

Importantly, Centrus Energy remains the only U.S.-based enricher that manufactures centrifuges and related equipment exclusively with American technology. This sets it apart from foreign, state-owned enterprises that control nearly all global enrichment capacity using centrifuge technologies manufactured overseas.

LEU’s Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates

Centrus Energy shares have soared 314.4% so far this year compared with the industry’s 14.8% growth. During this time, the Basic Materials sector has risen 22%, while the S&P 500 has gained 14.4%.

Meanwhile, peer Energy Fuels UUUU has gained 228.9% year to date. Lakewood, CO based Energy Fuels owns and operates several conventional and in-situ uranium projects in the western US, as well as the White Mesa Mill, which is the only operating conventional uranium mill in the United States. 
LEU is trading at a forward 12-month price/sales multiple of 10.26X, a significant premium to the industry’s 3.01X. Energy Fuels is trading higher at 37.33X.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Centrus Energy’s 2025 earnings is pegged at $4.32 per share, indicating a 3.4% year-over-year decline. The same for 2026 is $3.25, indicating a decline of 24.7%. Here is how the EPS estimates for 2025 and 2026 have been revised over the past 60 days.

The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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