Whitney Tilson’s “Top Stocks for the Nuclear Renaissance” (SMR Stocks)

Whitney Tilson is teasing an invention that he says will create more wealth than any technology in history.

But it's not what you may think, it fits in the back of a flatbed truck, and some “SMR Stocks” are the way to profit from it.

 

The Teaser

Congress recently approved billions for a massive rollout of this technology, which it is calling “pivotal.”

Whitney Tilson has had a long career as an analyst, portfolio manager, and now the lead editor of Stansberry’s Investment Advisory. 

He's had plenty of good and not so good calls over the years and we have covered most of them here, from a DNA Titan Company to his AI Company picks.

Unnamed experts believe this technology could blossom into a $40 Trillion industry in the decades to come, which is more than double the projected impact of Artificial Intelligence.

What is it? Two words: Nuclear Energy.

It's the topic du jour among the investment newsletter crowd and there's a few reasons why…

Global Energy Consumption 

Has been steadily growing ever since the dawn of the industrial revolution and now it could be about to explode.

Consider this, an AI query consumes roughly 10 times the electricity as a simple Google search.

This is a main reason why some believe energy consumption is going to triple between now and 2050.

Since renewables won't cut it, that means our electricity needs are going to have to be met by natural gas, coal, and nuclear energy.

More Demand Than Supply

As one executive at an uranium mining company put it, “We’re in an old-fashioned, plain-and-simple supply squeeze.”

According to the Uranium Producers of America, the U.S. will need to open 8 to 10 major new uranium mines within the next decade just to keep up with demand.

Carbon Neutral Mandate

After 20 years and $1.5 Trillion sunken into renewable energy, it still only makes up about 14% of America's total energy output.

However, to meet all of the new demand, it would need to grow by 20%…annually.

There's zero chance this happens, but politicians are a stubborn bunch and are likely to double down on their carbon neutral by 2035 mandate.

This means investment in the only reliable clean energy source – nuclear.

The U.S. Senate just passed a bill to accelerate the deployment of nuclear energy capacity and investment in nuclear is expected to reach $80 billion this year.

Whitney and his new team at Stansberry Research have identified a few favorite ways to play this megatrend.

 

The Pitch

All of the info on their top five nuclear power stocks can be found inside a newly published special report entitled “The Top Stocks for the Nuclear Renaissance.”

The report is ours with a subscription to the Commodity Supercycles newsletter, which costs $49 for the first year ($199 per year after that).

This includes a 30-day money-back guarantee, access to four special reports, including the one teased here, a model portfolio containing all of Stansberry’s nuclear and commodity picks, and one-year free access to Stansberry’s Investment Advisory newsletter covering promising market trends.

 

What in the World Is An SMR?

In the intro to his presentation, Whitney mentioned a three-letter acronym “SMR.” 

This stands for Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), which are smaller, cheaper, and easier to build than traditional nuclear plants.

The best part of all, is that they produce all the energy we need, while fitting in the back of a flatbed truck.

Same Process, Better Results 

In the past, nuclear power plants were billion-dollar megaprojects which took years or in the case of the Vogtle power plant in Georgia, decade's to build.

But what if you could replicate the same process, with better results?

That's what SMR's do.

They split atoms in a pressurized core, giving off heat, which turns into water and steam, generating electricity, just like a traditional nuclear plant.

The only difference is that SMR's do it on a smaller, yet more efficient, and cost-effective scale.

Whereas a traditional nuclear plant may have several thousand megawatts of production capacity and sit on hundreds or thousands of acres, an SMR produces several hundred megawatts, while taking up less than 100 acres.

But if this is the silver bullet it seems to be, then why isn't there a single operating SMR in the US?

For starters, nuclear is the only power source in the US to have its own dedicated regulatory agency, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

This means there is substantial red tape to cut through, however, Department of Energy investment into nuclear and Inflation Reduction Act subsidies show that there is a growing appetite for nuclear energy projects.

The demand for more energy is clear and nuclear seems to tick all the boxes, but what companies stand to benefit the most from a “Nuclear Renaissance?”

 

Revealing Whitney Tilson’s Top Nuclear Renaissance Stocks

It starts with companies building SMR's, but which ones?

#1 SMR Stock

• The company Whitney has in mind just beat out several others for $400 million in government contracts.
• It doesn't just build SMR's, it's also a leading uranium producer.

This sounds like BWX Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: BWXT).

• In April of last year, BWX's Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc. subsidiary was awarded a $428 million contract from the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) to provide purification and conversion services for highly enriched uranium.
• Besides building nuclear microreactors, BWX also provides uranium downblending services to support commercial power needs.

#2 Whitney's Top Utility Company 

• The first company owns nearly half of all the operating nuclear power plants in America.
• It's a Fortune 200 company with plenty of room to run.

Constellation Energy Corp. (Nasdaq: CEG) is the closest fit.

• The company operates the largest fleet of nuclear plants in the United States.
• Constellation is a Fortune 200 company with a market cap of nearly $70 billion.

#3 Whitney's Other Top Utility Company

• This company is the largest power generator in America, serving 20 million homes.
• It's also the fourth largest nuclear energy producer after a recent acquisition.

This is NextEra Energy (NYSE: NEE).

• NextEra is the largest electric power holding company in the United States.
• It also owns and operates nuclear power plants in Florida and other states.

As for Whitney's last two picks, a pair of uranium mining companies, he keeps these close to his vest and doesn't drop any clues about either.

However, we have more than enough to analyze with his first three picks.

 

Can Nuclear Energy Power Your Portfolio?

If nuclear power grows to be a $40 Trillion industry, as Whitney suggested, it would mean 12,000% growth from where it is today.

This may be a ‘best-case scenario', but even if it doesn't live up to such lofty projections, nuclear already generates more electricity than wind and solar power put together today, so it's a legit energy source worth investing in.

As for Whitney's picks, here are my thoughts on each:

BWX Technologies: BWX is in the race to be the first with an operating SMR along with NuScale Power (NYSE: SMR). A high-risk, high-potential stock.

Constellation Energy: As a regulated public utility, CEG is a low-risk, moderate upside play.

NextEra Energy: NextEra is already a $144 billion business. It can and will still grow, but upside is even more limited than CEG.

Personally, I was more interested in the uranium miners, as overweighting energy producers and underweighting retailers will likely produce higher returns over the long-term.

 

Quick Recap & Conclusion 

• Whitney Tilson is now carrying the torch at Stansberry Research and he's teasing an invention that he says will create more wealth than any technology in history.
• This invention it turns out, is nuclear energy and he's got five top stock picks for the “Nuclear Renaissance.”
• All five picks are revealed inside a newly published special report entitled “The Top Stocks for the Nuclear Renaissance.” The report is ours if we subscribe to the Commodity Supercycles newsletter, which costs $49 for the first year.
• While weren't able to reveal all of Whitney's stock picks this time around due to a lack of clues, we were able to reveal his top three, which are BWX Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: BWXT), Constellation Energy Corp. (Nasdaq: CEG), and NextEra Energy (NYSE: NEE).
• Whitney's SMR and utility picks are decent, but uranium and other energy producers will likely score larger gains than retailers over the long-term.

Which nuclear energy sector do you believe will produce the best returns? Let us know in the comments.