Buy Soaring Uranium Stocks Now and Hold for Home Run Potential

Uranium stocks have skyrocketed over the last year, with the largest U.S.-listed nuclear fuel stocks crushing Nvidia and tons of other artificial intelligence names.

Uranium is the fuel that powers nuclear reactors, and the U.S. uranium industry went nearly dormant for decades. That’s why uranium demand is projected to outstrip supply for the foreseeable future as the U.S. races to quadruple nuclear energy capacity by 2050 to help support the power-hungry AI boom and expand the most reliable source of clean power.

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The U.S. uranium stocks we dive into today—Centrus Energy and Uranium Energy—have soared at least 150% over the past 12 months, and the upside potential remains massive for both traders and long-term investors.

A growing corner of Wall Street views uranium and uranium stocks as the next gold and silver trade, meaning investors should buy some nuclear fuel stocks now for huge upside in 2026 and beyond. 

Are Soaring Uranium Stocks the Next Gold and Silver Trade?

The AI age is projected to drive a 25% increase in U.S. electricity demand by the end of the decade and 75% to 100% growth by 2050. This is why Meta META, Microsoft, and other AI hyperscalers are racing to secure long-term power agreements with nuclear energy companies.

Nuclear energy is expected to power a large chunk of the AI age for a few simple reasons. It’s already provided 50% of America’s carbon-free electricity for decades.

Plus, nuclear power plants provide baseload power, operating at full capacity more than 93% of the time. This makes nuclear by far the most reliable energy source, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

The AI hyperscalers and the U.S. Federal Government are throwing full weight behind creating a nuclear energy renaissance, which is only possible with massive uranium industry expansion.

On top of that, there are only a few U.S. uranium companies, which means that they will benefit substantially from the all-hands-on-deck push to kick the domestic nuclear fuel industry into hyperdrive.

The nuclear energy boom already sent uranium prices to their highest levels in over 15 years in 2024. Despite a pullback, uranium prices have soared roughly 170% since the start of 2021.

More importantly, uranium demand is set to outstrip supply for years to come since new supply takes a long time to bring online.

Plus, despite hyperscalers making nuclear power deals and small modular reactor stocks soaring, no new nuclear reactors have been built in the U.S. recently. SMRs and new larger-scale reactors are not expected to start producing power until the early 2030s, at the earliest.

The U.S. government is spurring the industry on after adding uranium to the list of Critical Minerals in November. The U.S. government is actively supporting many domestic uranium companies.

Domestic uranium companies will become more and more critical as the U.S. attempts to slowly wean off Russian imports and its broader sphere of influence, which dominate the nuclear fuel industry.

The World Nuclear Association said that “over a fourfold increase in annual uranium production would be needed to fuel the tripling of global nuclear capacity” in its World Nuclear Outlook Report published in January 2026.

This backdrop means that investors looking to cash in on the next potential gold and silver-like trade might want to look at uranium stocks. 

Buy Soaring "Strong Buy" Uranium Stock LEU Right Now?

Centrus Energy Corp. LEU is a diversified supplier of nuclear fuel components and services for commercial nuclear power plants. LEU is working directly with the U.S. government and other key players leading the U.S. nuclear revival. LEU’s impressive upward earnings revisions help it land a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

The Bethesda, Maryland-headquartered firm is helping drive the next generation of centrifuge technologies and beyond to help restore domestic uranium enrichment capabilities. Centrus Energy in 2023 inaugurated the first new U.S.-technology, U.S.-owned uranium enrichment plant to begin production since 1954.

Centrus boasts that it’s “pioneering production of High-Assay, Low-Enriched Uranium and is leading the effort to restore America’s uranium enrichment capabilities.”

Centrus, in early January, was awarded $900 million from the U.S. government to help “create domestic HALEU enrichment capacity.” The current fleet of nuclear reactors runs on uranium fuel enriched up to 5%, while HALEU is enriched between 5% and 20% and is required for the next-gen SMRs. Speaking of, Centrus is working with small modular reactor upstarts like TerraPower.

LEU, which has provided its utility customers with more than 1,850 reactor years of fuel since 1998, said it’s already secured “$2.3 billion in LEU purchase commitments from utilities contingent upon securing the necessary financing to build the new capacity.”

The nuclear fuel stock skyrocketed 1,300% in the past five years and 250% in the past 12 months. Yet LEU trades 95% below its 2007 peak, as it continues to find support near its critical 10-month moving average.

On a shorter timeframe, Centrus is holding firm near its 21-day after falling 11% on Thursday amid a huge Microsoft (MSFT)-driven selloff. LEU is still down 30% from its mid-October highs, and is on the cusp of breaking out above the key technical range above. 

Why Uranium Energy Stock is a Great Buy and Hold 

Uranium Energy Corp UEC is a Corpus Christi, Texas-based uranium mining company focused on advancing the next generation of low-cost, environmentally friendly in situ recovery (ISR) uranium mining. UEC is also running high-grade conventional projects in the U.S. and Canada.

Uranium Energy, which is one of a few domestic uranium companies, is attempting to build America’s “Only Vertically Integrated Uranium Fuel Supply Chain, from Mining to Conversion, Supporting U.S. Enrichment.”

UEC is increasing production via the construction of new low-cost in-situ recovery capacity in Wyoming and Texas. The domestic uranium company offered a bullish outlook for 2026 when it reported its Q1 FY26 results in early December.

Uranium Energy is projected to trim its adjusted loss from -$0.17 a share in FY25 to -$0.10 in FY26 and then soar all the way to +$0.06 next year. Its revenue is set to slip this year and then skyrocket 125% in FY27 as it ramps up its business and the U.S. nuclear revival revs into full gear.

Wall Street is bullish on UEC, with 7 of the 9 brokerage recommendations Zacks has at “Strong Buys.” Uranium Energy is also growing its unhedged uranium inventory to position itself to benefit from potentially massive upside. It also has a stout balance sheet, with no debt and $698 million in cash, uranium inventory, and equities at market prices.

UEC shares have climbed 2,000% in the past decade, including a 920% run in the past five years. Its 60% YTD charge to start 2026 helped it overtake its October records to reach new all-time highs.

The bulls stepped up right at Uranium Energy’s previous highs after tumbling on Thursday, signaling they are ready to push UEC and the wider uranium industry higher. Any pullback to UEC's 50-day or lower would likely mark a screaming buying opportunity for traders and investors. 

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

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