Two companies positioned to capitalize on the booming small modular reactor market are NuScale Power (NYSE: SMR) and GE Vernova (NYSE: GEV), each taking a strikingly different approach to the technology.
The International Energy Agency believes investments in SMRs could rise from $5 billion today to over $25 billion in 2030, eventually reaching a cumulative total of $670 billion by 2050.
NuScale’s VOYGR SMRs generate 77 MWe and are compact enough to be transported in segments on standard trucks, making them among the smallest commercially viable reactor designs available.
GE Vernova’s BWRX-300 SMR generates 300 MWe, making it equivalent in output to a mid-sized fossil fuel plant, though it is considerably larger and less portable than NuScale’s design.
NuScale holds a significant regulatory advantage, as its VOYGR is the only SMR to have received full design certification approval from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
GE Vernova’s BWRX-300 has not yet received NRC certification, but the reactor is actively moving through the regulatory pipeline and the company aims to deploy its first unit in Canada by 2030.
NuScale does not expect its reactors in Romania and the United States to come online until the early 2030s, meaning neither company will be generating meaningful nuclear power revenue in the near term.
Until its first SMRs are deployed, NuScale will rely primarily on front-end engineering and design studies, licensing fees, and consulting work, with analysts projecting revenue growth from $31.5 million in 2025 to $276.5 million by 2028.
Despite that projected growth trajectory, NuScale’s stock has plunged 80% over the past 12 months, weighed down by persistent cash burn, a lack of near-term catalysts, and a valuation that remains stretched relative to its commercial prospects.
GE Vernova, by contrast, benefits from rapidly expanding Power and Electrification divisions that are meeting surging demand from cloud infrastructure, data centers, and artificial intelligence applications.
Less than 3% of GE Vernova’s current revenue comes from nuclear energy, but that share is expected to grow substantially once the company begins deploying its BWRX-300 reactors commercially.
Analysts forecast GE Vernova’s revenue and adjusted EBITDA to grow at compound annual growth rates of 17% and 60%, respectively, between 2025 and 2028, reflecting confidence in its diversified energy platform.
The stock currently trades at five times this year’s sales and 40 times its adjusted EBITDA, a premium that reflects its strong positioning across multiple high-demand energy segments.
GE Vernova’s broader business foundations, diversified revenue streams, and clearer near-term deployment timeline make it the more compelling SMR investment compared to the higher-risk, pure-play bet that NuScale represents.
