Can SMR Stock Beat the Market?

4 days ago 6

Thomas Niel, The Motley Fool

Wed, November 26, 2025 astatine 3:40 AM CST 4 min read

NuScale Power, antecedently outperforming the S&P 500, present lags it implicit a one-year and three-year period, and has hardly beaten the scale since its marketplace debut.
Another question of outsized show could yet arrive, fixed increasing request for cleanable energy, coupled with this company's asset-light concern model.
Even so, good earlier the adjacent large breakout, shares could proceed to tumble backmost toward anterior lows.
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A period ago, if you asked whether NuScale Power (NYSE: SMR) was beating the market, you could answer, "yes." At the time, shares successful this developer of tiny modular atomic reactors were up astir fourfold implicit the past year, implicit fivefold implicit the past 3 years, and astir sixfold since the 2022 peculiar intent acquisition institution (SPAC) merger that took the institution public.

However, pursuing a steep pullback for the stock, NuScale has gone from outperformer to underperformer. Shares lag the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) banal marketplace scale connected a one-year and three-year basis. Now, there's inactive imaginable for shares not lone to marque up for this caller question of losses, but besides to acquisition a full-on breakout successful price.

The problem, though, is that good earlier this happens, chances are the banal continues to tumble backmost toward anterior lows.

Close-up representation of a constituent wrong a tiny modular reactor.

As seen successful the chart, NuScale shares person lagged the S&P 500 implicit a one-year and three-year period.

Period

SMR Return

S&P 500 Return

Difference

One year	-32.8%	11%	(43.8%)
Three years	69%	85.61%	(16.6%)
SPAC merger (May 2022)	87%	80%	7%

Data source: Author research.

NuScale shares person technically beaten the marketplace since their nationalist debut, but conscionable barely. Again, this comparatively anemic show is chiefly owed to a abrupt driblet successful the banal price. For overmuch of 2025, the banal was performing well. Investors bid up this early-stage company, namely owed to the imaginable for its tiny atomic reactors to beryllium successful precocious demand, to conscionable the vigor requirements of the AI infrastructure buildout.

However, since mid-October, NuScale's banal terms has fallen by implicit two-thirds, from the high-$50s to the high-teens per share. Chalk this up to galore factors. Enthusiasm for the AI information halfway inclination is simmering down. Recent developments besides suggest that NuScale's engagement successful a woody with the Tennessee Valley volition not construe into worldly gross anytime soon.

Add successful a poorly received quarterly net release, positive plans from ample shareholder Fluor (NYSE: FLR) to proceed selling its NuScale stake, and it's not astonishing that shares person fallen truthful far, truthful fast.