NuScale Power projects a 70.5% improvement in operating losses, even as its stock trades below $10, raising questions about valuation despite AI-driven demand tailwinds.
NuScale Power Corporation (NYSE: SMR) is expected to narrow its per-share loss significantly in 2026, giving investors a concrete financial reason to reassess the battered nuclear stock. The Zacks Consensus Estimate projects a loss of 64 cents per share for the year, representing a 70.5% year-over-year improvement that stands out for a company still in its pre-commercial phase. Despite that encouraging earnings trajectory, the market has remained skeptical, with SMR shares falling 39.9% in 2026 and currently trading at $8.51, not far above their 52-week low of $7.21.
The broader advanced nuclear sector has suffered alongside NuScale, with Oklo Inc. (NYSE: OKLO) and NANO Nuclear Energy (NASDAQ: NNE) declining 49.5% and 33.8%, respectively, over the same period.
NuScale's most compelling competitive advantage remains its regulatory standing, as it is the only small modular reactor developer to hold U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission design certification, covering two approved standard designs. Its reactors are engineered to run on commercially available low-enriched uranium, removing dependence on fuel sources not yet available at commercial scale—a practical edge over several rival developers.
NuScale has built a supply chain network of more than 60 specialized suppliers, with agreements reached with more than half of them and detailed designs for critical-path components already mature.
On the commercial front, ENTRA1 Energy, NuScale's exclusive global strategic partner, is in ongoing discussions with the Tennessee Valley Authority toward a definitive power purchase agreement for what could become a major U.S. nuclear deployment. NuScale is also advancing a Romanian project with Nuclearelectrica and RoPower, planned around six NuScale Power Modules, which alongside the TVA talks represents the clearest path to converting engineering readiness into actual reactor revenues.
The company ended the second quarter with approximately $1.9 billion in cash, cash equivalents and investments, providing substantial financial capacity as commercial deployment discussions progress.
Revenue performance remains a concern, however, with NuScale generating just $0.1 million in second-quarter revenues compared with $8.1 million in the same period a year earlier, following a decline in work tied to the RoPower project.
NuScale's own risk disclosures identify customer funding, manufacturing delays, supply constraints, competition and dependence on ENTRA1 as material concerns that could weigh on the commercialization timeline.
A sub-$10 share price may appear inexpensive relative to where SMR previously traded, but a low nominal price alone does not make a stock cheap when execution risk remains substantial. NuScale currently carries a Zacks Rank of 3, or Hold, a designation that reflects the balanced nature of the investment case, acknowledging credible long-term potential alongside meaningful near-term uncertainty.
The stock looks more like a name worth monitoring than an obvious bargain, with the investment thesis hinging on whether TVA and RoPower discussions can be converted into firm, revenue-generating commercial contracts.