NuScale Power Corporation (NYSE: SMR) experienced a sharp selloff on Tuesday, with shares falling approximately 11.4% to $11.78 in afternoon trading. The stock opened at $12.90 and dipped as low as $11.49 during the session. Trading volume surged to 28.7 million shares by mid-afternoon, reflecting heightened investor anxiety.
The decline was triggered by two significant developments: a disappointing first-quarter earnings report and a bearish analyst note from Citi. The company reported Q1 revenue of just $565,000, dramatically below the $7 million consensus estimate. Net loss attributable to Class A shareholders widened to $44.0 million, compared to $14.0 million in the same period last year. Citi responded by slashing its price target on NuScale to $7 from $9, maintaining a Sell rating. The analysts noted a Q1 EPS loss of $0.14, deeper than the expected $0.11 loss.
NuScale attributed the sharp revenue decline to the completion of engineering work and lower licensing revenue. In the prior year, revenue was boosted by RoPower licensing and Phase 2 front-end engineering design (FEED) work for Fluor, both of which concluded in late 2025. The company is still in a pre-commercial stage, with its valuation heavily dependent on future contract wins rather than current earnings.
Despite the weak quarter, NuScale management emphasized its long-term potential. CEO John Hopkins described the current period as a “watershed” for the nuclear industry, highlighting the company’s regulatory approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for its 77-megawatt-per-module small modular reactor (SMR) design. CFO Robert Hamady noted that liquidity, including cash and investments, exceeded $1.2 billion as of early May.
Bulls point to NuScale’s unique position among nuclear startups: it is the only company with an NRC-approved SMR design. Key projects include the ENTRA1 partnership with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), potentially totaling 6 gigawatts of capacity, and the RoPower project in Romania, which has cleared shareholder approval for six modules at Doicești. However, bears argue that design approval does not translate into revenue or cash flow.
The company burned through $314.7 million in operating cash during Q1, largely due to a $259.9 million payment to ENTRA1 and softer customer receipts. After the quarter ended, NuScale raised $216.8 million by issuing 22.36 million Class A shares, raising concerns about dilution. Investors are waiting for concrete power purchase agreements (PPAs) with TVA or other partners before assigning higher value to the stock.
The broader nuclear and power sector also faced headwinds on Tuesday. Peer companies such as Oklo Inc. (NYSE: OKLO) fell 7.4%, Nano Nuclear Energy (NASDAQ: NNE) dropped 6.7%, Vistra Corp. (NYSE: VST) declined 3.3%, and Constellation Energy (NASDAQ: CEG) eased 2.4%. The pullback was more pronounced among speculative reactor developers, reflecting sector-wide skepticism about near-term deployment.
Prediction markets are also pricing in delays. On Polymarket, traders estimated an 81.5% probability that the U.S. will not grant a new nuclear reactor combined license in 2026, though volume was light. This sentiment underscores the core investor concern: moving from design approval to a licensed, financed construction project remains a slow and uncertain process.
For NuScale, the path forward hinges on securing binding contracts. If the company inks a PPA linked to the TVA project, the narrative could shift dramatically, providing investors with tangible revenue visibility. Until then, the stock remains a high-risk bet on regulatory milestones and future deal flow, with each quarterly miss reinforcing the market’s skepticism.
