It has been a tough year for NuScale Power (NYSE: SMR). Shares have fallen nearly 40% since 2026. One Wall Street analyst remains unfazed.

In early August, Rinny Singh, an analyst at Bank of America, reiterated her buy rating on SMR stock, setting a share price target of $12, implying roughly 24% upside over the next 12 months.

Why does Singh remain so bullish despite recent share price weakness? Her bull thesis comes down to one key catalyst -- a catalyst that may soon receive some much-needed momentum.

Here's why Rinny Singh remains bullish on NuScale Power stock

Singh's bull thesis on NuScale stock largely comes down to one critical factor: Can NuScale convert its customer pipeline into revenue-generating projects? The biggest mover from this perspective is the company's 6-gigawatt (GW) project with its financing partner, ENTRA1, and utility provider, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).

Right now, NuScale remains the only company in the U.S. with regulatory permission to build a small modular reactor, or SMR. If built, the company's TVA project would be the biggest SMR facility in the world by a large margin.

Here's the catch: TVA still hasn't made any firm financial commitments to the project. The deal will be non-binding until a power-purchase agreement (PPA) is signed, locking the utility into buying power from the future NuScale facility.

In a note to clients earlier this year, Singh conceded that "converting agreements to firm deals has been slower than anticipated." Singh also expressed concern about NuScale's financial position, citing increased cash burn and near-term funding risk.

Image source: Getty Images.

Since that note was published, however, NuScale has significantly improved its capital position. As of last quarter, the company has around $1.9 billion in cash and cash equivalents. This resolves most of Singh's funding concerns, though at the price of shareholder dilution.

A vastly improved balance sheet now let's NuScale focus on executing Singh's most valuable catalyst: converting the non-biding TVA deal into a firm, revenue-generating project. That catalyst would be realized with the signing of a PPA. According to NuScale's management team, a PPA could be in place by the end of 2026.

Last quarter, NuScale's CEO specifically called out "continued advancement on the ENTRA1 and TVA power purchase agreement discussions." NuScale's CFO added that the nuclear company is "hopeful that TVA can come across the line at some point later this year."

If NuScale can secure a PPA for this project, Singh's bull thesis may ultimately look conservative. A PPA not only would provide serious social validation for NuScale's technology and go-to market strategy, but it would also clear up many financing concerns. ENTRA1, NuScale's financing partner, was approved for $25 billion in government funding last year to build large-scale energy projects. Not all of that funding will go to NuScale. But if the TVA deal reaches firm financial commitments this year, expect the market to assign more value to NuScale's future customer pipeline.

Importantly, Singh is not alone in her bullishness. The Wall Street consensus price target for NuScale stock is also around $12 per share. The investment thesis, however, will largely hinge on getting a PPA signed for the 6-gigawatt SMR project with TVA.

Bank of America is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends NuScale Power. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Space Exploration Technologies (NASDAQ: SPCX), known as SpaceX, is ready to explore the cosmos. At least that's what CEO Elon Musk wants investors to understand.

"The mission is to make life multiplanetary, to extend consciousness beyond Earth and understand the universe," Musk explained in August. "For me, being a spacefaring civilization is the most interesting thing we could possibly do for the future."

Here's the catch: SpaceX won't be establishing a multiplanetary civilization anytime soon. Before it pursues those goals in earnest, it will need to execute on two key growth pillars that will grant SpaceX the funding and mandate to move beyond Earth and its immediate surroundings.

Image source: Getty Images.

These two catalysts will give SpaceX a leg up in the space race

SpaceX's revenue nearly doubled year over year last quarter, surprising analysts. The company, however, still posted a net loss of $541 million. The company's only segment to generate an operating profit was its Starlink satellite network.

With heavy capital expenditures expected for years to come, Starlink should prove critical to SpaceX's ability to scale its space-based endeavors. Not only is the segment a testament to SpaceX's ability to launch an innovative business model at a profit, but those profits will also prove crucial for SpaceX's self-funding capabilities, especially if market conditions take a turn for the worse.

Perhaps even more important to SpaceX's space ambitions is the successful scaling of its AI business. According to the company's IPO prospectus, AI represents $26.5 trillion of the company's $28.5 trillion total addressable market. Under the guise of scaling its AI business, SpaceX will be able to invest heavily in rocket launches, orbital data centers, increased satellite coverage, and potentially a colony on the moon.

SpaceX could win the space race not because it's myopically focused on scaling its space exploration capabilities; rather, Musk has the company positioned to succeed by using other business opportunities -- namely, Starlink and AI -- to justify scaling more speculative space ventures to investors.

Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

The AI industry is in desperate need of more energy -- quickly.

"Tech companies in the AI race need power, and lots of it," warns The Wall Street Journal. "They aren't waiting around for the archaic U.S. power grid to catch up."

Nuclear energy can help meet the power needs of AI companies over the long term. Nuclear energy provides a large amount of reliable baseload power with minimal carbon emissions. The problem is that nuclear power plants can take a decade or more to build, with some projects requiring more than $1 billion in capital to complete.

The AI industry needs more energy faster than what conventional nuclear power plants can deliver. That's where SMRs come in. These miniature nuclear power plants can be built in a fraction of the time, potentially just two or three years.

Up-front costs are much lower, though all-in operating costs may be higher on a per-megawatt basis than conventionally sized facilities. SMRs can also be expanded over time, with a small-enough footprint to be located directly next to data center infrastructure.

Two pure-play SMR stocks are NuScale Power (NYSE: SMR) and Oklo (NYSE: OKLO). The market cap gap between the two companies is massive. NuScale trades at a $4 billion valuation, while Oklo is valued at nearly $40 billion.

Why the gap, and which SMR stock should investors prefer? The answers to these questions are surprisingly simple.

This is why Oklo trades at a premium to NuScale Power

Both NuScale and Oklo are pursuing SMR developments. NuScale has been approved by regulators to build a system in the U.S., but Oklo has not. In fact, Oklo's application was denied in 2022. The company took until 2025 to resubmit its application.

Oklo was also on a list of approved suppliers during a recent U.S. military request for SMR systems. Five companies were ultimately selected. Oklo was not one of them.

From this perspective, it may seem strange that Oklo trades at a 900% premium to NuScale Power. Digging deeper, however, Oklo's strengths begin to emerge.

Both NuScale and Oklo have impressive customer pipelines. NuScale's project pipeline sits between 6 and 8 gigawatts. Oklo's pipeline, meanwhile, totals roughly 18 gigawatts. Note also that NuScale's customer pipeline is largely composed of a single customer, whereas Oklo has at least six sizable customers, greatly reducing the risk of a single project's failure.

Image source: Getty Images.

Why has Oklo outcompeted NuScale for customers despite not yet having regulatory approval to build an SMR system? The answer likely lies in Oklo's investor base and its go-to-market strategy.

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, was an early investor in Oklo. He served as the company's chairman for many years. Having the leader of one of the world's largest AI companies directly invested in Oklo's future provides strong social validation.

"I'm all-in on energy. I think there's urgent demand for tons and tons of cheap, safe, clean energy at scale," Altman told CNBC as Oklo prepared to go public in 2023. "I don't see a way for us to get there without nuclear."

Whereas NuScale is focused on grid-scale deployments, Oklo has pursued deals directly with data center companies. Earlier this year, for example, it agreed to a 1.2-gigawatt deal with Meta Platforms.

Do Oklo's social validation and direct-sales strategy warrant a 900% premium? Right now, NuScale stock seems to offer more upside potential, given its relatively diminutive valuation.

Valuation aside, Oklo looks better positioned to succeed long term. If deep-pocketed data center companies are driving the surge in energy demand, marketing directly to these businesses through a powerful industry influencer seems like a winning strategy.

Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Meta Platforms. The Motley Fool recommends NuScale Power. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Nuclear energy is experiencing a resurgence, according to many leading experts. "After decades of underinvestment, a convergence of generational technological breakthroughs, intensifying geopolitical competition, and the need for clean, dense, reliable power are positioning nuclear energy for a renaissance," analysts from Goldman Sachs conclude.

"But the next nuclear age will look different from the last," the bank warns. "Innovations in fission like small modular reactors (SMRs) are shaping what the revival of traditional nuclear fission could look like."

Analysts from Morgan Stanley are in agreement. "Nuclear power generation is experiencing a revival driven by ambitious climate goals and technology demands," the firm observes. Like Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley sees SMRs as one of the most promising solutions for scaling nuclear energy.

"Innovations in nuclear energy may also contribute to the investment growth picture, and a new U.S. law aimed at encouraging new nuclear technologies while cutting down red tape could help spur activity," Morgan Stanley says. "Small modular reactors (SMRs), for instance, are a fraction of the size of conventional reactors and can be factory assembled and transported, offering scalability and flexibility."

The idea of SMRs -- which are, in essence, simply miniature nuclear power plants -- has been around since the 1940s. Only two SMR systems have ever been successfully commercialized, one in China and another in Russia.

On a per-megawatt basis, SMRs are typically more expensive than conventional power plants. The advantages are quicker construction times, lower upfront investment, and the ability to locate these smaller systems near the infrastructure they will be serving, whether that be an oil drilling facility in Texas, a remote village in Alaska, or a data center in Svalbard.

Due to higher long-term operating costs, SMR adoption has remained limited in recent decades. But the AI industry needs more power fast. So despite only two SMR systems existing worldwide today, more than 80 projects are currently in development. The biggest SMR system in the world is currently being developed by a U.S. company with a market cap that just fell below $4 billion.

This nuclear energy stock is high-risk, high-reward

When it comes to SMR stocks, my favorite by far is currently NuScale Power (NYSE: SMR). While competition is rising, NuScale is currently the only company in the U.S. cleared by regulators to build an SMR system. Regulatory clearance helped the company's financing partner, ENTRA1, sign a deal with the Tennessee Valley Authority to build a 6-gigawatt system in the eastern U.S. If built, that system would be 30 times bigger than the largest SMR facility in existence today.

Image source: The Motley Fool.

Oklo Inc. (NYSE: OKLO), another popular SMR stock, trades at a $40 billion valuation, whereas NuScale's market cap hovers just below $4 billion.

Why the 90% discount? There are several factors. The biggest may be NuScale's customer concentration and its previous failures. In 2023, NuScale's biggest customer canceled its project. At the time, analysts worried that the collapse would signal the end of rising interest in SMRs.

NuScale was handed a lifeline through its deal with the Tennessee Valley Authority, a project that could ultimately be ten times larger than the company's previously canceled deal. But no financial commitments have been finalized yet. A power purchase agreement -- essentially a deal that commits the project partner to buy power from the future facility -- could be finalized by the end of 2026. If that happens, expect NuScale's valuation to rise significantly. There is no doubt, however, that shares should be reserved for risk-tolerant investors truly looking for maximum-upside stocks.

Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Goldman Sachs Group. The Motley Fool recommends NuScale Power. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Are artificial intelligence (AI) stocks in a bubble? That's what many concerned investors are wondering today as valuations continue to skyrocket.

There are many reasons the AI boom resembles past boom-and-bust cycles. Namely, soaring valuations, high expectations for long-term growth, and a recurring defense from AI bulls that "this time is different."

There are, however, many important differences between this boom and, say, the dot-com bubble of the late 1990s. Most of the largest AI companies are already enormously profitable, with impressive revenue growth rates. And while the AI boom requires specialized hardware like graphics processing units (GPUs), much of the basic infrastructure is already in place. Conversely, during the dot-com craze, much of the internet's basic operating infrastructure was not yet built. That ultimately stretched growth timelines. The same may not be true for today's AI boom.

But there's a catch: Just because AI isn't a bubble doesn't mean that valuations will never get ahead of themselves. Indeed, we've already seen several corrections across the AI sector in recent years, though they ultimately proved short-lived. Buying many of the most popular AI stocks at their previous peaks still proved to be a winning long-term investment.

Right now, there's one undeniably expensive AI stock that still has a sizable amount of growth potential, arguably more than businesses such as Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) and Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR).

This pricey AI stock still has major upside potential

I'm not sure SpaceX (NASDAQ: SPCX) will ever be able to justify its current $2 trillion valuation. I wouldn't be surprised, however, if the company is eventually valued at $10 trillion. This apparent contradiction is easily explained. SpaceX's growth opportunities are enormous. If the company can execute on all of them, the upside would be lucrative for investors. But the risks involved are high. It is possible, or maybe even likely, that SpaceX will make hundreds of billions of dollars in capital expenditures (capex) only to fail at some of its wildest ambitions, including putting a permanent human colony on the moon and launching data centers into space.

Take a look at SpaceX's initial public offering (IPO) prospectus. You will immediately understand just how valuable SpaceX's end markets could be.

"We believe we have identified the largest actionable total addressable market in human history," SpaceX claims. The breakdown of this estimate is telling.

We estimate that our quantifiable TAM is $28.5 trillion, consisting of $370 billion in Space from space-enabled solutions; $1.6 trillion in Connectivity across $870 billion in Starlink Broadband and $740 billion in Starlink Mobile as well as additional opportunities in enterprise and government; $26.5 trillion in AI across $2.4 trillion in AI infrastructure, $760 billion in consumer subscriptions, $600 billion in digital advertising, and $22.7 trillion in enterprise applications.

Image source: Getty Images.

This is my main concern with SpaceX stock at its current $2 trillion valuation. The entire Starlink and rocket launch opportunity totals less than $2 trillion. And that's assuming SpaceX takes the entire opportunity set, which almost certainly won't be the case. Justifying the current market cap, therefore, requires executing on its AI vision. The potential of that vision, according to SpaceX, is an impressive $26.5 trillion.

If SpaceX can execute on its AI growth runway, there would arguably be more upside for the company's stock price than top-tier AI companies like Nvidia. That's because this growth runway would include manufacturing its own GPUs in-house, operating data centers in space with a structural operating cost advantage over competitors, capturing a large share of enterprise AI spending, scaling vast terrestrial infrastructure like its Colossus data centers, and much more.

Whether SpaceX will succeed is another question entirely. "Only the most optimistic Moonshot scenario, which requires a rapidly reusable Starship and commercially competitive orbital data centers, approaches the IPO price," concludes a report from Morningstar. "The IPO price implies the Moonshot scenario is highly likely, but we think the outlook is very uncertain."

I'm sticking to the sidelines for now given the execution risks. But from a raw upside-potential perspective, SpaceX may be the frontrunner among AI stocks.

Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Nvidia and Palantir Technologies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

On paper, NuScale Power (NYSE: SMR) has a bright future. The nuclear power stock is the only company currently approved by regulators to build a small modular reactor (SMR) in the U.S. SMRs are essentially miniature nuclear power plants, a form of nuclear energy generation that is receiving renewed interest from AI companies. The AI industry needs more electricity quickly. With much shorter construction times and lower upfront costs, SMRs have a distinct advantage over conventionally sized nuclear power plants.

A quick look at NuScale's stock performance during the past year, however, paints a different story. The shares are down more than 30% year to date and have plunged more than 70% during the past 12 months.

Many Wall Street analysts haven't given up hope. In fact, some are incredibly bullish on the stock, predicting more than 100% gains during the next 12 months.

What is keeping Wall Street so bullish despite the share price tumble? There are three primary reasons for continued optimism.

Here's why Wall Street still loves NuScale Power stock

On Aug. 16, Ryan Pfingst, an analyst at B. Riley Financial, lowered his price target on NuScale stock from $19 to $15 while maintaining his buy rating. Pfingst is particularly excited about a potential power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), NuScale's biggest customer.

Thus far, the company's deal with TVA is largely a handshake agreement. Minimal financial obligations have been made. A PPA, however, would commit TVA to buying power from the future SMR facility at a predetermined rate for years to come. In short, it would ensure future revenue for NuScale, allowing it to begin construction.

NuScale has faced customer cancellations in the past. The company's collapsing stock price partially reflects this risk. If a PPA is signed, however, that risk point diminishes significantly, lifting a major overhang on NuScale's valuation.

Image source: Getty Images.

The TVA deal alone has the potential to make or break NuScale's stock price. But it's not the only project in NuScale's pipeline. Pfingst is also optimistic about the company's project in Romania, which recently advanced to the next stage of government review.

NuScale's deal with RoPower Nuclear aims to build Europe's first SMR facility. It has been delayed several times, and construction is not expected to be completed until the early 2030s. Investors should view this more as a long-term option than a near-term catalyst. But there is reason for optimism. Earlier this year, Romanian officials cleared the project for formal investment. The next step is to determine exactly where those investment dollars will come from.

"Over the next six months, the project will enter a phase of financial structuring and partnership consolidation, during which financing mechanisms will be defined and discussions with potential investors for the execution phase will be advanced," an official stated. With that six-month period recently completed, a positive catalyst for the project could be revealed at any time.

This brings us to the third reason Pfingst remains bullish on NuScale stock: He believes the company has enough financial resources to survive until positive catalysts regarding these two SMR projects are announced. NuScale has essentially no debt, and it's sitting on $1.9 billion in cash. Much of that cash position was raised through stock sales, diluting investors. And more share dilution may be on the way.

The important factor, however, is that NuScale likely has enough capital to sustain itself until positive catalysts arrive. In recent quarters, it has posted operating losses of roughly $60 million, though cash-flow figures varied more widely due to obligatory payments made to project partners. But the next few months could see NuScale benefit from some of the longtime catalysts that investors have been waiting for. NuScale's chief financial officer recently suggested a PPA for its TVA project could be signed by the end of 2026. And although the RoPower deal does not have a formal deadline, previous comments from government officials suggest positive news on that front could also be revealed before year-end.

Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends NuScale Power. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

The artificial intelligence (AI) boom is already well underway. Globally, $7 trillion is projected to be spent over the next few years alone on scaling data center infrastructure. All those data centers will need power -- lots of it. That's where nuclear energy can play a key role.

Many nuclear energy stocks are worth consideration. Investors looking to bet on rising energy demand from AI companies, however, may be best off narrowing their focus to SMR stocks.

Image source: Getty Images.

SMR stocks -- which specialize in small modular reactors -- are attractive for several reasons. These miniature nuclear power plants are faster, cheaper, and safer to deploy than conventional nuclear plants, at least on paper. Only two SMR systems are currently commercially active globally, though more than 80 are in some stage of development.

If you're looking for pure-play SMR stocks, there are two clear options with varying go-to-market strategies.

These nuclear power stocks specialize in SMRs

NuScale Power (NYSE: SMR) is the only company in the U.S. approved by regulators to build an SMR system. The biggest project in its pipeline is a 6-gigawatt system for the Tennessee Valley Authority, a major southeastern U.S. utility provider.

NuScale is focused on meeting AI's energy needs by delivering power to grid suppliers in a traditional way. Oklo (NYSE: OKLO), meanwhile, is taking a more direct approach, pitching its systems directly to AI companies. It already has some deals signed with data center companies. But like NuScale, none of these systems have financial commitments yet.

NuScale's $4 billion market cap is arguably more attractive than Oklo's $40 billion valuation. But the choice ultimately comes down to how investors assess their go-to market approaches. If a traditional grid approach works, NuScale is the better pick. If marketing directly to AI companies is superior, Oklo clearly has the upper hand.

Consider giving both a closer look to see if any other factor might help tip the scales.

Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends NuScale Power. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Artificial general intelligence, or AGI, has been discussed among AI experts for decades. The term was first used by Mark Avrum at a technology conference in 1997. The phrase entered the mainstream in 2007 with the publication of the book Artificial General Intelligence by AI researchers Ben Goertzel and Cassio Pennachin.

What exactly is AGI? Goertzl and Pennachina describe it as "AI systems with a reasonable degree of self-understanding and autonomous self-control." That is, AI that has self-determination and the ability to make decisions on its own.

AI investors have long been on the lookout for the advent of AGI. Why? According to AGI proponents, a firm that cracks the code of AGI would attain permanent competitive advantages. It could deploy AGI on its own systems, improving them at such a rapid and consistent pace that the competition could never catch up.

Investing in the company that achieves AGI could be akin to investing in an AI monopoly -- a real-world expression of winner-take-all economics. The resulting business could wield even more power over the industry than Nvidia's (NASDAQ:NVDA) coveted GPUs.

"AGI may differ from past general-purpose technologies in ways that would allow a leader to permanently entrench its position, and an early advantage could translate into an enduring constraint on a rival's ability to compete, translating to decisive economic advantage," warns the RAND Corporation.

If AGI is achieved, competitors must act quickly to replicate the results. Otherwise, the technological gap could widen quickly and permanently. "Acting while the economic gap is still small offers the follower substantially higher returns than would attempting to stop the leader's momentum after more-significant asymmetries have emerged," the RAND Corporation concludes.

On Sept. 3, OpenAI openly announced that it had officially kick-started the AGI era. "Welcome to the AGI era," OpenAI bragged as it unveiled its GPT-6 Astra model. President Greg Brockman called the firm's latest model launch a "generational leap."

As OpenAI reportedly prepares for an IPO, how seriously should investors be taking the company's recent AGI claims?

OpenAI isn't claiming complete AGI dominance

Due to its market-moving influence, headlines often overstate AGI claims. The phrasing of OpenAI's announcement hasn't helped in this situation.

Importantly, OpenAI isn't claiming that it has finally solved AGI. Nor is the company saying that the race for AGI is over. Instead, the company is telling the public that its latest model launch is putting the industry on the path toward AGI, in a way that years down the road, experts could point to the launch of GPT-6 Astra as the start of the AGI era.

To confuse things even more, the words of OpenAI President Greg Brockman don't line up with the company's CEO, Sam Altman.

Image source: Getty Images

"If we fast forward a couple years, and we look back and say when was it really that AGI was created,
I think it's going to be about this time, and I think it might be about this model," Brockman said on Sept. 3.

"I think that we're at a point now where these models are solving unsolved 100-year-old math problems, but you can also use them in order to accelerate the economy [and] in order to benefit you and your personal life ... I think it's not unreasonable to feel that we are now in the AGI era," he concluded.

Yet on Aug. 11, Altman called AGI "not a super useful term," adding that it is largely an "irrelevant marketing term."

AGI remains a valuable potential breakthrough. And OpenAI's latest model launch is impressive by many standards. But investors should continue to be wary of AGI claims, especially from a company looking to shore up its valuation ahead of an IPO.

Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) is on a roll when it comes to market-moving announcements.

Last month, the EV maker announced the sale of 500 Tesla Semis to Swedish transportation company Einride AB (NASDAQ:ENRD), essentially tripling the truck's lifetime volumes. The move signaled strength not only for Tesla's emerging trucking platform, but also for its autonomous driving technology, which has the potential to address a growing labor shortage for trucking companies.

On Sept. 3, an even bigger catalyst for Tesla's self-driving ambitions was revealed: the official launch of the company's long-awaited Cybercab.

The vehicle's design may be surprising to some. There is no steering wheel and no pedal. The vehicle is expected to navigate itself exclusively using cameras and artificial intelligence.

Tesla stock surged in value in the hours leading up to the event. How should investors be viewing the Cybercab launch? There are two factors to keep in mind.

1. Robotaxis are already a big part of Tesla's valuation

Cathie Wood -- the CEO of Ark Invest, a major Tesla shareholder for nearly a decade -- has been telling investors about the growth potential of Tesla's robotaxi division for years. Her firm began purchasing Tesla stock in 2016 at just $13 per share. Ark Invest now owns more than $1 billion of Tesla stock.

"We think $8 trillion to $10 trillion for the entire autonomous taxi opportunity throughout the world, from almost nothing," Wood predicted over a year ago, referring to how large the robotaxi market could eventually become. "That's how quickly AI is going to cause these things to happen," she stressed.

Looking at Tesla's valuation, it's clear that the market is already pricing in plenty of growth potential. While Tesla's car sales have stabilized, volumes fell year-over-year in both 2024 and 2025. Trading at 13 times sales -- a healthy premium to every other EV stock -- investors aren't necessarily buying into something the market doesn't already know about.

Image source: The White House

2. Robotaxi growth could be lower than Elon Musk's projections

Regardless of the stock's current valuation, I am a big fan of Tesla's ability to compete aggressively in the nascent robotaxi industry.

The company's biggest advantage is its vertical integration. Some analysts believe Tesla will be able to produce Cybercabs at an all-in cost of $18,000. Competing services, meanwhile, are paying more than $100,000 per vehicle. As one industry insider concluded, "For the same capital outlay, Tesla could deploy nearly seven times as many vehicles."

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is telling investors to expect big things. But his predictions have typically proven overly optimistic.

"I think we'll probably have autonomous ride hailing in probably half the population of the U.S. by the end of the year. That's at least our goal subject to regulatory approvals," Musk said in 2025. That goal was never reached. A few months later, Musk predicted to Tesla's robotaxis would have "no safety driver by end of year." That, too, never came to pass.

To be clear, Tesla perhaps has an unrivaled ability to scale its robotaxi network given how vertically integrated its business is. The company added 45 Cybercabs to its Austin, Texas, network before its latest Cybercab event in a show of force.

But Tesla doesn't completely control its growth trajectory. Regulators will ultimately dictate how quickly the service can scale publicly. So while Tesla may be ready to scale from an internal perspective, investors should remember that growth rates will be determined by many exogenous forces, not just Musk's private opinions.

Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

NuScale Power (NYSE: SMR) is a popular nuclear energy stock with significant upside potential. The company is valued at just $4 billion despite operating in what could become a $300 billion global market.

In general, Wall Street analysts are bullish on the company. The consensus price target of $11.85 suggests nearly 30% in near-term upside. Two analysts believe shares could double in value over the next 12 months.

There's no doubt about NuScale's potential. The company specializes in small modular reactors, or SMRs. This technology has been around for decades, with only two SMR facilities ever commercialized worldwide. Adoption of SMRs, however, is heating up quickly. More than 80 SMR systems are currently in development, largely thanks to a single catalyst: rapidly rising energy demand from artificial intelligence (AI) companies.

These companies require large amounts of reliable baseload power. And due to climate commitments, much of this emerging power demand must be met by low-carbon generation. AI companies will need more power years down the line, but they also need more power now. That makes SMRs a better fit versus conventional nuclear power plants. SMRs are essentially miniature nuclear power plants that can be built faster and with lower upfront costs. They can also be located directly next to data center infrastructure.

While SMR competitors are currently in the application pipeline, NuScale remains the only company in the U.S. cleared by regulators to construct an SMR system. This reality, combined with AI's rapidly rising energy needs, paints an optimistic picture for NuScale's future. But there's one risk point every investor should be keenly aware of.

This is what worries me about NuScale Power stock

The long-term demand picture for nuclear energy is promising. Bank of America believes it will be a $10 trillion global opportunity through 2050. Importantly, however, Bank of America believes that SMRs will make up a minority of that opportunity. The bank estimates that meaningful SMR adoption will not arrive until 2035 or later.

NuScale is already ahead of the curve with several major projects in its pipeline. For example, it has a 6-gigawatt deal signed with their financing partner, ENTRA1, and a northeastern utility, the Tennessee Valley Authority. If built, this SMR system will be the largest in the world by far. NuScale also has a 462-megawatt deal in Romania that is advancing through government approvals.

Image source: Getty Images.

Here's the problem with NuScale: The company has repeatedly faced customer delays and cancellations. In 2023, its biggest deal at the time collapsed as cost estimates surged.

"Although there were problems specific to that project, the financial challenges and cost trends witnessed in this case will afflict any small modular nuclear reactor project," M.V. Ramana, a professor at the University of British Columbia, warned at the time. "In a rational world, no utility or government would invest another dime on these theoretical reactor concepts."

Even NuScale's Romania deal has faced several delays. Construction has not officially begun, but completion estimates have already been pushed out to 2034.

Good news could be on the way for NuScale's most valuable project, its 6-gigawatt deal in the U.S. NuScale's CFO recently guided investors to expect a power purchase agreement (PPA) by the end of 2026. If signed, a PPA would clear the way for construction to begin.

A PPA would be meaningful for NuScale's prospects as well as its stock price. A delay, however, could be devastating. NuScale remains unprofitable, and pushing out its most promising revenue-generating project would likely require additional shareholder dilution. So while NuScale's long-term prospects remain bright, shareholders should expect a long holding period with the potential for considerable dilution along the way.

Bank of America is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends NuScale Power. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Nuclear power is going miniature. On Aug. 27, the U.S. Army approved $2.2 billion in funding for micro nuclear reactors. Five developers were selected, each of whom will deliver a microreactor to a U.S. Army site.

The move is part of the Janus Program, which was launched last October. "Executive Order 14299-Deploying Advanced Nuclear Reactor Technologies for National Security-was signed by President Donald Trump in May 2025 and aims for operation of an Army-regulated nuclear reactor at a domestic military installation no later than 30 September 2028," reports World Nuclear News.

The goal seemingly isn't just to power U.S. military sites with nuclear energy. Instead, it appears that military spending and the adoption of nuclear technology will be used to kick-start more civilian projects.

"We are seeking not just reactors capable of turning on for a brief demonstration, but rather systems able to deliver power with high-capacity factors for years of operation," a representative for the Army stressed. "The Janus Program will be a complete success when, and only when, we have assisted multiple nuclear companies in developing truly reliable and affordable nuclear microreactors which they can sell to other buyers beyond just the military."

U.S. regulators and many of the country's politicians are increasingly focused on advancing domestic use of nuclear power. The following two stocks are set to benefit.

These stocks will benefit from rising interest in nuclear energy

If the U.S. military is focused on scaling microreactors, the most obvious investment opportunities are NuScale Power (NYSE:SMR) and Oklo Inc. (NYSE:OKLO).

Oklo was named a potential supplier to the Janus program, but was ultimately not selected. NuScale, meanwhile, does not appear as if it qualified for consideration.

Why, then, are these two stocks positioned to benefit from the U.S. military's efforts?

First, these are the only two pure-play stocks available to investors today focused exclusively on small modular reactors, or SMRs. Other publicly traded companies are also developing their own SMR designs. These companies, however, are mostly diversified industrial conglomerates, reducing an investor's ability to bet specifically on these miniature nuclear power plants.

Image source: Getty Images

Second, SMR adoption remains very much in its early innings. Only two SMR projects are currently in operation worldwide right now, one in China, the other in Russia. Research from leading investment banks including Bank of America, meanwhile, suggests that SMRs could become a $1 trillion global opportunity. That opportunity, however, will occur over several decades.

The faster excitement and interest grows for SMRs, the better off both Oklo and NuScale will be. Both companies have already established impressive customer pipelines, but few if any of those deals have firm financial commitments. Securing those commitments requires many things, but a clear signal from both regulators and government officials, plus real-world adoption by the U.S. military, would be a strong tailwind. And that's exactly what has unfolded in 2026.

Despite rising tailwinds, there is still a large amount of risk for SMR stocks. Oklo and NuScale remain unprofitable, and have largely relied on shareholder dilution to stay afloat. Both companies impressive customer pipelines, meanwhile, could reverse course at anytime. NuScale, for example, lost its biggest customer in 2023 as cost estimates ballooned.

Still, the news this week is undoubtedly positive for both SMR investors and nuclear energy investors in general.

Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends NuScale Power. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Strategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) is back to buying Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC).

On Aug. 31, the firm acquired $370 million of Bitcoin at an average purchase price of $80,318. The purchase came after four straight sales. In combination, these sales brought in roughly $430 million.

On paper, the moves appear confusing. Why dump $430 million in Bitcoin over a period of two months just to buy most of that stake back within weeks of the last sale?

The moves get even more confusing when you consider that Strategy executed its latest purchase at a higher price than its recent sales. Strategy's sales were executed at prices between $59,000 and $64,000 per Bitcoin. The latest purchase, however, was executed at roughly $80,000. The result was more than $80 million in sacrificed shareholder value when accounting for both the higher repurchase price and the foregone opportunity cost.

What exactly is Strategy's strategy here? The details of the situation may not be what you think.

Here's why Strategy is buying more Bitcoin

For years, all Strategy did was add to its Bitcoin holdings. From its first purchase in the summer of 2020 all the way through late July of this year, the company never booked a net sale of the crypto asset. This summer, however, the firm booked four straight sales, only to buy back most of that stake on Aug. 31.

Crypto investors may naturally feel like the transactions reflect Strategy's stance on Bitcoin's valuation. But the truth is likely far less exciting.

Michael Saylor, the founder of Strategy, has long advised investors to "never" sell their Bitcoin. Earlier this year, however, Saylor floated the idea of selling some of the company's Bitcoin holdings.

"I said to you, 'Never sell your Bitcoin!' I never said that the company wouldn't sell its Bitcoin," he explained. "Strategy is a public company, not my wallet," he added, noting that he has never sold any of his personal Bitcoin holdings.

Why, then, did his company sell down its stake? The obvious reason is capital management. Strategy posted a $12.5 billion loss in the first quarter of 2026. The company also needed to fund a preferred dividend payment by June 30. Indeed, Strategy has been repurchasing its preferred shares at a discount to par in order to lower those obligations.

Image source: Getty Images

Saylor, of course, put a more positive spin on the sales.

"We'll probably sell some Bitcoin to fund a dividend just to inoculate the market, just to send the message that we did it. 'Look, the company's fine, the market's fine, the world didn't come to an end,'" he explained to investors. The sales, under this framework, were to be a sign of strength, not financial fragility or a reversal of its long-term Bitcoin thesis.

The truth is likely somewhere in between. Strategy has likely not lost faith in Bitcoin's long-term promise. But from a corporate management standpoint, it likely made sense to raise some extra cash, even if its management team wishes to downplay the need.

Regardless, Strategy still owns roughly 4% of all Bitcoin supply. The fact that the firm is buying again, and the fact that its period of selling did not trigger a market panic, are both positives for Bitcoin's long-term promise.

Ryan Vanzo has positions in Bitcoin. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

The global data center build-out is well on its way. According to consensus estimates, tech companies are expected to deploy roughly $800 billion in capital this year to scale AI infrastructure. Investment is only expected to grow from here. Research from McKinsey & Co. projects AI capex to reach $7 trillion globally by 2030. The consulting group calls it "one of the largest infrastructure build-outs in modern history."

Other analysts are more cautious. Research from AllianceBernstein observes:

The use cases of AI are slowly emerging, albeit it's frankly too early to really lay out a high confidence path. However, memories of the tech bubble frequently emerge in conversations with clients, as do analogies with the railway-building frenzy of the nineteenth century and other episodes where the adoption and economic benefits of a new technology took much longer than investors first hoped, and where the ultimate beneficiaries were not clear.

Unlike in previous capex waves, however, AI companies are largely backing up the fervor with real-world revenue growth. The industry is also spearheaded by companies with massive valuations and largely profitable core businesses, allowing them to raise capital and invest aggressively over time. This reality has Goldman Sachs predicting that high capex forecasts could understate the scale of investment in 2026.

Image source: Getty Images.

Instead of consensus estimates calling for $800 billion in AI capex this year, Goldman Sachs thinks the true number will be closer to $1 trillion. Due to reporting differences, the bank's analysts think U.S. spending might be lower than expected. In contrast, global spending and spending by private AI companies should come in more than $200 billion over expectations. That's because, according to Goldman Sachs, most market estimates "do not include investment in AI by private companies or by companies outside the U.S. -- including firms in Asia."

How should investors be betting on higher-than-expected AI capex outside the U.S.? There are two obvious strategies.

1. Bet on the global AI leader

When it comes to AI investing, it's hard to ignore Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), regardless of the investment framework. Nvidia is not only the biggest AI company in the world, but it's also the biggest company in the world, period. Its graphics processing units (GPUs) are widely regarded as the best on the market. While hardware leaders come and go over time, Nvidia's strong investments in software -- particularly its focus on the CUDA developer platform -- make the company's products "stickier" than most traditional hardware businesses. Plus, Nvidia's access to capital is a serious advantage at a time when customers are demanding GPU production to scale as quickly as possible.

U.S. companies are Nvidia's largest customers, and roughly 10% of its revenue comes from Taiwan. Chinese companies used to be significant sources of revenue, but that's all but vanished -- it's clear that Nvidia is a U.S.-centric business.

Then why is the company attractive, given Goldman Sachs' estimates? Because Nvidia still has the industry's leading hardware, and it's investing heavily in international growth. Last year, it announced more than 40 international partnerships, up from just 15 the year before. Nvidia is already on pace to exceed those figures in 2026.

According to one industry analyst, Nvidia's "growth story used to be American hyperscalers. Since 2025, their geographical mix has turned international."

2. Invest in AI stocks exposed to Asia

Investors can also opt to invest in AI stocks already exposed to Asia. Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM), for example, is generating nearly half of its 2025 revenues from China. More than one-quarter of sales came from South Korea and other foreign countries.

Qualcomm is primarily focused on producing high-end mobile chipsets for smartphones. As AI adoption moves toward edge devices, the company has a direct opportunity to benefit. The company is also moving more aggressively into data center components. Qualcomm expects at least $15 billion in data center revenue by 2029.

To be sure, Qualcomm isn't nearly as exposed to AI as Nvidia -- at least for now --, but that picture is quickly changing. Trading at just 19 times earnings, Qualcomm looks like a much cheaper way to invest in the AI economy, though geopolitical risks and a stagnating core business complicate the investment thesis.

Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Goldman Sachs Group, Nvidia, and Qualcomm. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Even after a harsh and sudden correction, Space Exploration Technologies (NASDAQ: SPCX) stock remains above its IPO price of $135. Cathie Wood, the CEO of Ark Invest, has used recent weakness in shares to add to her firm's position in SpaceX.

According to reports, Ark Invest bought 200,000 shares of the popular space stock across multiple ETFs. The combined purchases totaled around $27 million.

SpaceX is now the firm's second-largest holding, with a position value of roughly $680 million. Ark Invest's largest holding is another Musk-led business, Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA). That holding is worth nearly $1 billion.

Why is Wood so bullish on Elon Musk's businesses? What prompted her to increase her position in SpaceX? The answer is simpler than you might think.

Here's why Cathie Wood loves Elon Musk and SpaceX

Fortunately, Wood often goes public with her investment theses. Therefore, understanding what she sees in a particular investment isn't difficult. Her comments make it clear that there is a direct connection between her Tesla stake and her growing bet on SpaceX.

In 2024, Ark Invest published a detailed report outlining the key drivers of its Tesla investment. The firm predicted a 2029 share price of $2,600. The reasons for Ark Invest's optimism were clear: According to the report, the firm expects that "nearly 90% of Tesla's enterprise value and earnings will be attributed to the robotaxi business in 2029." In short, it thinks autonomous technology will unlock a new era for Tesla.

Autonomous vehicles have long been "just around the corner." Musk himself is famous for his inaccurate predictions on the matter. "I am confident that in less than a year you will be able to go from highway on-ramp to highway exits without touching any controls," he declared in 2014.

It's taken much longer to achieve, but artificial intelligence (AI) can now handle extremely large and complex data sets in real time to make prompt and informed driving decisions. Experts recently polled by McKinsey & Co. believe robotaxis will be a reality "at a large scale" by 2030.

Image source: Getty Images.

Wood believes the robotaxi market could eventually be worth $10 trillion globally. It is that belief that underpins much of her investment in Tesla. The advent of robotaxis, however, will largely depend on rapid advances in AI. This reality is exactly what has fueled Wood's investment in SpaceX. Ark Invest believes SpaceX will scale profitable ventures like Starlink and reinvest the funds in more speculative AI initiatives.

"Once it completes Starlink's constellation -- in ~2035, according to our base case -- ARK's research suggests that SpaceX could generate ~$300 billion in annual revenue, accounting for ~15% of total spending on global communications," a report from the firm concludes. SpaceX can use those mounting cash flows to pursue orbital data centers, a speculative but high-upside opportunity.

Musk has previously stated his goal of launching 100 gigawatts of AI computing capacity per year. He eventually wants a network of 1 million orbital data centers. Ark Invest is very bullish on the plan. "ARK's research suggests that at sub-$100 per kilogram launch costs, orbital data centers could deliver compute at a cost ~25% lower than terrestrial alternatives without grid interconnection delays, permitting friction, or power scarcity," the firm concludes.

SpaceX's own IPO prospectus agrees that its future hinges not on Starlink development, but on its long-term AI ambitions. The company believes more than 90% of its total $28.5 trillion addressable market deals exclusively with AI opportunities.

At their core, Wood's investment theses for both Tesla and SpaceX hinge on AI growth and execution. Investors, therefore, must be all-in on this vision. Tesla's manufacturing capabilities and SpaceX's launch capabilities should be viewed more as enablers of this opportunity than as opportunities themselves. Without high confidence in AI's potential, an investment in either company likely doesn't make sense.

Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

The data center industry is booming.

"The race to scale AI has triggered one of the largest infrastructure build-outs in modern history," observes a recent report from global consultancy firm McKinsey & Co. "By our estimates, global spending on data centers could reach $7 trillion by 2030."

Public sentiment toward data centers, however, is increasingly negative. According to recent polling by Gallup, around 70% of Americans opposed building data centers in their local areas. Nearly half indicated that they were "strongly" opposed.

"Half of opponents mention data centers' excessive use of resources, including 18% each mentioning their use of water and energy," Gallup revealed. "Sixteen percent mention a related environmental concern of pollution, including noise pollution and air and water pollution."

Public backlash against data centers could spell trouble for nuclear energy stocks such as Oklo Inc. (NYSE: OKLO) and NuScale Power (NYSE: SMR). Nuclear energy is experiencing a renaissance driven by AI's rapidly rising need for power. Oklo and NuScale specialize in small modular reactors, or SMRs, which are particularly well-suited for speedy construction, with the ability to be co-located with data center infrastructure.

If data center construction faces scaling challenges due to public backlash, the case for SMRs weakens considerably. But there's another factor at play that could also hurt the case for SMRs.

Natural gas and negative data center sentiment could slow SMR adoption

Public backlash is worrisome for SMR stocks such as Oklo and NuScale because, if data center construction is slowed, the need to pay a premium for SMR technology falls. On a per-megawatt basis, SMRs are more expensive than traditional nuclear power plants. The advantage of an SMR, however, is that it can be built quickly.

Right now, the AI industry is desperate for new power sources. Many major players are willing to pay a premium to get new power generation capacity in place. They simply cannot wait a decade or longer to get a conventional nuclear power plant up and running. In theory, SMRs can be deployed in as little as two years.

If data center construction is slowed, AI companies may focus more on conventional power plants. For example, Alphabet, the parent company of Google, is planning to build three new conventional nuclear power plants in the U.S. capable of producing at least 600 megawatts each. The ability to disintermediate SMRs and focus more on long-term energy generation may especially be the case given renewed demand for a popular fossil fuel: natural gas.

Image source: Getty Images.

On Aug. 27, I detailed how Elon Musk is directing his company, Space Exploration Technologies, to invest more aggressively in natural gas supplies to fuel its rockets and power its compute infrastructure. SpaceX even plans to build its own natural gas pipeline.

"If AI companies can meet near-term demand with natural gas," I warned, "this fuel can then be a bridge until larger conventional nuclear power plants come online, likely at lower ongoing operating costs than a similarly sized SMR."

Investors should remember that only two SMR systems have ever been built worldwide. NuScale has yet to commercialize its designs, whereas Oklo doesn't even have approval from U.S. regulators to begin construction yet. It will likely be years until the U.S. has its first commercial small modular reactor online. Rising public backlash against data centers and increased interest in natural gas may push that timeline out even further.

Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet. The Motley Fool recommends NuScale Power. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

NuScale Power (NYSE: SMR) is a nuclear energy stock specializing in small modular reactors, or SMRs. There has been a surge of interest in SMRs in recent years, given their status as a potential antidote to the AI industry's rapidly rising energy needs.

SMRs are essentially miniature nuclear power plants that can be built faster and at a lower upfront cost than traditionally sized nuclear reactors. At least, that's what SMR developers are claiming.

"No developers outside China and Russia have yet completed a commercial version of what's known as a small modular reactor, or SMR," warns The Wall Street Journal. So how the SMR space evolves and whether the industry's cost and efficiency gains can be validated in real life remain to be seen.

NuScale Power's upcoming catalyst could energize the entire SMR industry

Uncertainty surrounding the industry's fate has weighed heavily on SMR stocks. NuScale's stock price has fallen by more than 40% in 2026. The uncertainty stems from several factors.

First, as The Wall Street Journal stresses, only two SMR systems are currently active worldwide. We still don't know whether these systems will ever see mass adoption.

Second, the industry has already faced massive contract failures. In 2023, for example, NuScale experienced a major project cancellation, forcing one industry analyst to predict that the "collapse of NuScale's project should spell the end for small modular nuclear reactors."

Finally, SMR stocks like NuScale and Oklo Inc. (NYSE: OKLO) have never turned a profit. Negative cash flows are expected to continue in the near future, putting the financial viability of these businesses in question.

Lifting these uncertainties would go a long way in revitalizing the stock prices of major SMR developers like NuScale and Oklo. Fortunately, a catalyst that could relieve some of the uncertainty could be on the way by the end of 2026.

Image source: Getty Images.

Last September, NuScale's financing partner, ENTRA1, partnered with the Tennessee Valley Authority -- a major U.S. utility -- to build a 6-gigawatt SMR system. If built, it would be the largest in the world. Why, then, have NuScale shares fallen by 75% since the announcement? Because of the aforementioned uncertainty. The market seemingly doesn't buy that this system will ever be built. That's a fair assumption given NuScale's past failures.

A power purchase agreement (PPA) would dramatically change market sentiment. PPAs are legally binding agreements that commit a customer to buying power from a facility at a preset price, often for years or decades to come. If a PPA is signed, NuScale can be assured of future revenue, and thus can begin project construction. NuScale's CFO hopes to have a PPA finalized by the end of this year.

A PPA would likely buoy NuScale's stock price. With proof that customers are willing to legally commit large amounts of capital, it would also send confidence throughout the rest of the SMR industry. The signing of this PPA could, in hindsight, be seen as a major catalyst for the long-term adoption of SMR systems.

Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends NuScale Power. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

It has been a tough year for Oklo (NYSE: OKLO) and NuScale Power (NYSE: SMR). Shares of these nuclear power stocks have fallen by roughly 44% and 41%, respectively.

It's strange to see nuclear energy stocks with such promising long-term growth potential struggle in this market. Demand from the artificial intelligence (AI) sector for more energy has caused analysts to predict a nuclear renaissance. Bank of America values the upcoming nuclear opportunity at a staggering $10 trillion.

Why, then, are Oklo and NuScale struggling? There are three key reasons.

Here's why Oklo and NuScale Power shares are struggling

The main reason Oklo and NuScale shares are struggling isn't the promise of nuclear energy. Instead, shares are struggling simply due to shifts in investors' risk appetite.

Both Oklo and NuScale specialize in small modular reactors, or SMRs. These miniature nuclear power stations can be built quickly, but only two SMR systems have ever been commercialized worldwide. And both Oklo and NuScale are likely years away from commercializing their own systems. Oklo isn't even approved by regulators to begin construction.

With cash flows not expected until far into the future, even small shifts in market risk tolerance will have an undue impact on each company's stock price.

Image source: Getty Images.

The second reason shares are struggling is related to these distant cash flows. Without any revenue-generating projects, Oklo and NuScale continue to post losses each quarter. Bank of America does not see real-world SMR adoption ticking up until 2030 at the earliest, with meaningful adoption not expected until 2035 or 2040. This reality has historically forced ongoing shareholder dilution, and will likely continue to do so. Without firm financial commitments from customers, the market seemingly has grown worried about each company's financial position. It's not that these companies will go bankrupt anytime soon. But shareholder dilution may be greater than many investors expected at the start of 2026, with long-term insolvency risk a growing consideration.

Finally, shares of both Oklo and NuScale may simply have been overpriced at the start of the year. Oklo's market cap hovered around $20 billion in January, with NuScale coming in around $10 billion. Excitement around SMRs and AI caused a market fervor for nuclear power stocks. But those valuations were likely too rich for money-losing businesses with meaningful cash flows not expected until the distant future.

NuScale and Oklo remain promising businesses. But perhaps today's valuations are closer to what investors should have demanded in the first place.

Bank of America is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends NuScale Power. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

On Oct. 6, the price of Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) reached an all-time high of $126,198. From there, it was a long march downward, with prices falling below $63,000 earlier this month.

Then, everything changed. Bitcoin ETF inflows have been consistently positive in recent days, sending the crypto asset 25% higher since Aug. 19. On Aug. 27, the price of Bitcoin finally resurfaced above $80,000.

Crypto investors everywhere are now asking themselves one question: is the bear market over? Potentially. But there's an even better question Bitcoin bulls should be asking themselves right now.

This is what Bitcoin investors should never forget

Crypto markets are historically extremely volatile. Bitcoin is no exception.

What makes Bitcoin's price fluctuate so wildly? There are a few factors.

The first is limited supply. Long term, there is a hard cap of 21 million coins that can be in circulation. Minting rates, meanwhile, slow over time, eventually reaching zero. Limited supply contrasted with big swings in demand often result in sudden and severe price volatility.

The second factor is the influence of so-called Bitcoin whales. An estimated one-third of all bitcoin supply is controlled by just 10,000 investors. The actions of these investors, therefore, has an undue impact on Bitcoin's price.

Finally, there is always steep competition for the attention of risk-tolerant investors. In recent years, crypto markets have ceded a lot of attention to high-flying AI stocks. Even within crypto markets, there are continually new and innovative assets attempting to unseat Bitcoin's dominance.

Image source: Getty Images

But here's the thing: Bitcoin remains the king of crypto. And it's not even close. Bitcoin is currently five times bigger than the next-largest crypto token. In fact, Bitcoin's valuation is larger than the rest of the crypto industry put together.

I'm skeptical as to whether Bitcoin's dominance will ever change. That's due to an investment thesis that many crypto investors have long forgotten about: Bitcoin is the digital gold.

Roughly 10% of gold's value is related to technology use cases. Another 40% is tied up in jewelry. That leaves half of gold's value to speculation alone. Humans have valued gold for thousands of years. That has made gold a reliable store of value. Gold is valuable simply for being itself.

Bitcoin has the same advantages, even if its history is far shorter than gold's. Bitcoin was the first crypto asset. Its historic significance can never be deleted from the record books. And while it doesn't have as many features as other crypto assets, Bitcoin's status as a store-of-value asset has been made clear through retail, corporate, and institutional adoption.

Gold's market cap currently hovers above $32 trillion. Bitcoin's valuation, meanwhile, remains under $2 trillion. Can Bitcoin close the gap? This is the question Bitcoin investors should be asking themselves, not where Bitcoin's price will move in the coming weeks or months.

If gold really is a long-term benchmark for Bitcoin's future growth, the price of Bitcoin currently has more than 1,500% upside potential. And that's not even factoring in any future price increase for gold itself.

Market trends come and go. But Bitcoin's valuation gap with gold remains a steady and reliable long-term benchmark.

Ryan Vanzo has positions in Bitcoin. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

When Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) unveiled its all-electric Semi truck in 2017, analysts were largely bullish on potential demand.

"We believe this could set off competition for intelligent trucks in the industry," an analyst for Morgan Stanley predicted in 2017. "If the order books fill up quickly, any carrier that holds back placing its order could potentially have to wait several years to get its hands on a Tesla truck -- years during which its competitors could be running with up to a ~70% cost advantage."

Morgan Stanley stressed to investors that the Semi could be "the biggest catalyst in trucking in decades."

Other analysts were similarly optimistic. Analysts at Bernstein, for example, predicted Tesla would capture 3% of the semi market within five years. Piper Jaffray's research team believed that the Tesla Semi could revolutionize the company's revenue base. At the time, Tesla was generating just $11 billion in annual revenue. For comparison, Piper Jaffray estimated the market opportunity for Tesla's Semi truck to be more than $100 billion per year.

It has been nearly a decade since these predictions were made, and the results are clear: the Tesla Semi has been a major disappointment.

This time last year, only a few hundred Semis had been sold cumulatively. But things are starting to heat up. Einride AB just put in an order for 500 Semis, effectively tripling Tesla's lifetime sales for the truck.

Now, Tesla is planning a major Semi event on Sept. 24. According to reports, "The invite-only event will celebrate the opening of the new Semi factory and give attendees access to factory tours and ride-alongs in the updated Tesla Semi. The event comes several months after Tesla began building Semis on its new high-volume production line."

With production ready to scale alongside rising demand, is Tesla's Semi truck finally ready to make a meaningful impact to the company's bottom line? The answer is clearly yes, but there's one catch that investors should be wary of.

Tesla investors should understand this caveat to Semi sales growth

When the Tesla Semi was launched, big assumptions were made regarding the vehicle's ability to generate fuel savings and minimize ongoing operating costs. But higher upfront costs put a damper on demand.

Right now, the Tesla Semi is expected to cost around $350,000 when including the charger. A new diesel truck, meanwhile, runs closer to $165,000. Operating cost savings can be hard to predict. Diesel prices fluctuate, repair costs and lead times for the Semi aren't as forecastable as a conventional diesel truck, and local electricity prices vary widely. Plus, drivers simply aren't adapted to running an electric fleet.

Image source: Tesla

Higher fuel prices may help spur demand, but many of those adoption barriers -- chief of which is operator inexperience driving and maintaining an electric vehicle -- remain. That's what makes the advent of autonomous trucking so attractive for the Semi's sales potential.

McKinsey & Co. sees autonomous trucking taking off in the U.S. by 2032 -- just five years away. Tesla has invested heavily in its self-driving technology. With an ability to mass produce Semis with long-term cost savings and minimal labor needs, I expect Tesla to benefit immensely long term. But the sales ramp won't just follow theoretical cost savings -- it will also hinge on how quickly autonomous driving technology is developed and approved by regulators.

So while Semi sales should ramp in the coming years, I'm not expecting a major inflection point until autonomous trucking becomes a reality.

Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) is not valued as a traditional automotive stock. Much of the company's $1.1 trillion valuation is tied to future growth opportunities such as robotics and artificial intelligence. Robotaxis might be the company's largest long-term opportunity, with some experts predicting this industry will one day be worth $10 trillion worldwide.

Initially, Tesla CEO Elon Musk was very bullish about the pace and scale of Tesla's robotaxi rollout.

"I think we'll probably have autonomous ride hailing in probably half the population of the U.S. by the end of the year," Musk predicted in mid-2025. That never happened. Later that year, Musk told investors to expect "no safety driver by end of year" for the company's robotaxis. That, too, never came to pass.

At the start of 2026, Musk once again laid down the gauntlet, predicting:

We expect to have fully autonomous vehicles in probably somewhere between a quarter and half of the United States by the end of the year, pending regulatory approval. [W]e expect to be in dozens of major cities by the end of the year.

That prediction will likely not come true this late in the year. But Tesla did reveal some exciting news on Aug. 24 that will help the company move closer to Musk's ambitions.

How valuable is Tesla's robotaxi launch in Nevada?

Tesla's slower-than-expected robotaxi rollout isn't completely the company's fault. Slow regulatory approvals have also stymied growth. That's what makes the latest announcement so exciting.

On Aug 24, the Nevada Transportation Authority approved Tesla's application to operate a robotaxi service, clearing the way for it to launch 5,000 autonomous taxis in the state. Two competing robotaxi services, Alphabet's Waymo and Aviari, were approved to operate only 1,000 vehicles.

Image source: Tesla.

The expansion into Nevada is encouraging. Robotaxis are critical to Tesla's long-term valuation. But the slow rollout thus far should cause investors to be more conservative in their growth estimates.

I still see Tesla as the most powerful robotaxi operator in the U.S., especially given how vertically integrated its business is. But the path toward realizing Musk's robotaxi vision will be much longer than most analysts expect.

Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet and Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Space Exploration Technologies CEO Elon Musk has long been known for his war on carbon emissions. In a 2006 blog post for Tesla, he laid out his ultimate aim: "[T]he overarching purpose of Tesla Motors (and the reason I am funding the company) is to help expedite the move from a mine-and-burn hydrocarbon economy toward a solar electric economy, which I believe to be the primary, but not exclusive, sustainable solution."

In a 2016 blog post, Musk went even further:

By definition, we must at some point achieve a sustainable energy economy, or we will run out of fossil fuels to burn and civilization will collapse. Given that we must get off fossil fuels anyway and that virtually all scientists agree that dramatically increasing atmospheric and oceanic carbon levels is insane, the faster we achieve sustainability, the better.

Musk's businesses have contributed heavily to the global power transition. Tesla is now producing more than 1.5 million electric vehicles per year while also producing massive battery systems to support renewables.

But Musk faces a new challenge: SpaceX's rapidly rising energy demands to support rocket launches and the scaling of its AI compute infrastructure.

"I am not against using natural gas power as a bridge to solar and even using it long-term to some degree to help with the dip in solar power during the deep winter months," Musk wrote on X on July 31. This shift in sentiment is understandable given recent news that SpaceX is building a dedicated natural gas pipeline to support rocket launches, while its rapidly growing AI infrastructure increasingly relies on natural gas for power.

Rising demand for natural gas could hurt nuclear energy investors, particularly those invested in SMR stocks like NuScale Power (NYSE: SMR) and Oklo (NYSE: OKLO).

Oklo and NuScale investors should be worried about renewed interest in natural gas

Thanks to rising energy demand from the AI sector, nuclear energy is experiencing a renaissance. That's the conclusion reached by analysts at Bank of America. In total, the firm sees nuclear energy becoming a $10 trillion global opportunity over the coming decades.

Stocks like Oklo and NuScale are particularly primed to benefit, given their focus on small modular reactors (SMRs). The AI industry needs massive amounts of clean, baseload power as quickly as possible. Building new nuclear power plants often takes a decade or more, limiting their ability to meet near-term power demands.

SMRs are essentially miniature nuclear power plants. They can -- at least in theory -- be built faster with lower up-front costs than larger, more conventional nuclear systems.

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. Image source: The White House

In the long run, SMR systems are not cheaper to build and operate than larger plants. The advantage of SMRs is largely their speed of construction and modularity, allowing the system to scale with growing demand.

This is the primary challenge posed by the resurgence of natural gas. If AI companies can meet near-term demand with natural gas, this fuel can then be a bridge until larger conventional nuclear power plants come online, likely at lower ongoing operating costs than a similarly sized SMR.

This challenge is particularly daunting for Oklo and NuScale, since both companies are currently unprofitable. Meaningful cash flows are likely still years away. If AI companies can delay SMR adoption by focusing on lower-cost, lower-risk natural gas facilities, the timing of these cash flows could be stretched even further. That not only introduces additional shareholder dilution but also considerably increases uncertainty regarding both companies' long-term financial viability.

In 2024, when NuScale received a cancellation notice for the largest project in its pipeline, one industry expert predicted that the collapse would permanently hinder global adoption of SMRs. "In a rational world, no utility or government would invest another dime in these theoretical reactor concepts," the expert warned.

Only two SMRs are currently in commercial operation worldwide. So, while the SMR industry is exciting and offers plenty of long-term growth potential, real-world traction remains limited. More reliance on natural gas could delay further real-world traction. That's bad news for SMR stocks like Oklo and NuScale.

Bank of America is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Tesla. The Motley Fool recommends NuScale Power. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

After its historic IPO, which initially priced shares at $135, Space Exploration Technologies (NASDAQ: SPCX) stock quickly soared, setting an all-time high of $225.64 on June 15. The space stock quickly lost its luster, however. Over the following months, SpaceX's stock price has fallen back to near its initial IPO valuation.

Wall Street analysts largely remain unperturbed. On average, analysts have a $232.35 price target on shares, implying more than 68% upside from today's price. One analyst, Andrew Beale from Arete Research, even has a $450 price target on the stock, suggesting at least 200% in upside over the next 12 months.

Not all experts are SpaceX bulls. Glenn Thum of Phillip Securities, a Singaporean investment bank, currently rates SpaceX stock as a sell. His price target of $75 implies 45% downside over the year to come.

In other words, while Wall Street remains very bullish on SpaceX on average, individual predictions range widely. What should investors make of this apparent disagreement? The answer is surprisingly simple.

Wall Street predictions for SpaceX stock hinge on this catalyst

SpaceX disclosed plenty of important details during its second-quarter earnings call. But most of the critical details regarding SpaceX's long-term growth potential remain in the company's original IPO prospectus.

To understand Wall Street's price projections, it's necessary to first understand where SpaceX believes it has the most growth potential.

"We believe we have identified the largest actionable total addressable market in human history," SpaceX declared near the start of its IPO prospectus. "We estimate that our quantifiable TAM is $28.5 trillion, consisting of $370 billion in Space from space-enabled solutions; $1.6 trillion in Connectivity across $870 billion in Starlink Broadband and $740 billion in Starlink Mobile as well as additional opportunities in enterprise and government; $26.5 trillion in AI across $2.4 trillion in AI infrastructure, $760 billion in consumer subscriptions, $600 billion in digital advertising, and $22.7 trillion in enterprise applications."

Immediately, we can understand what any forecast for SpaceX stock must hinge on: the success of its AI segment, which constitutes 93% of the company's total claimed long-term growth opportunity.

Image source: Getty Images.

To be sure, SpaceX's other segments -- which include its rocket launch business and its Starlink internet service -- should prove valuable over time. Its Starlink segment is already profitable, with impressive subscriber growth and operational leverage. Its rocket division, meanwhile, is arguably the best in the world, and should prove critical for enabling other growth opportunities such as orbital data centers.

But the combined total addressable market for those two segments, according to SpaceX's likely rosy estimates, is just $2 trillion. That's not much higher than SpaceX's current stock price. For the company to make sense as an investment, then, it must have meaningful success in scaling its AI business.

Indeed, this is largely why Thum of Phillip Securities has a sell rating on the stock. Thum is worried about the massive capital expenditures necessary for scaling SpaceX's AI division, as well as its alarming customer concentration. Nearly 20% of second-quarter revenue came from a single AI customer.

Other analysts, however, are incredibly bullish on SpaceX stock because they believe in the company's AI vision. Goldman Sachs, for example, sees SpaceX's AI revenue surging 100-fold by 2030. There will be some growing pains involved. Goldman Sachs projects negative cash flow of $105 billion in 2029, before it becomes cash-flow-positive in 2030 or 2031.

The spread in analyst projections largely reflects differences in how each analyst sees SpaceX's AI ambitions faring. It will take years to know the answer. But a long-term investment in SpaceX stock hinges almost solely on how large and how quickly the company can scale this division. How profitable this division is once scaled, meanwhile, is a completely different question.

Wall Street analysts have different estimates for SpaceX's Starlink and rocket launch growth rates. But make no mistake: SpaceX's valuation will ultimately be a function of the relative success or failure of its AI business.

Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

NuScale Power (NYSE: SMR) is currently the only nuclear energy company in the U.S. approved by regulators to build a small modular reactor, or SMR. To be sure, competition is on the way. Several companies are working through the nuclear regulatory approval process, including Oklo Inc. (NYSE: OKLO), another pure-play SMR developer.

But NuScale is unique in that it is both cleared by regulators to build an SMR system and it already has several major customers lined up, one of which is looking to build the largest SMR system in the world.

Here's the problem: NuScale investors have been burned before by major customers canceling deals before financial commitments are made. So while NuScale has major customers lined up on paper, there's no guarantee that this deal pipeline will result in meaningful revenue, or profits for that matter.

Image source: Getty Images.

Given this execution uncertainty, NuScale's market cap still hovers around $4 billion despite lucrative long-term growth potential. When this uncertainty is lifted, expect the stock price to react strongly. Fortunately for NuScale investors, much of the company's execution uncertainty could be lifted as soon as this year.

Time to buy NuScale Power stock?

NuScale's biggest customer in its pipeline is the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), a major electric utility in the eastern U.S. The deal is actually being handled mostly by NuScale's financing partner, ENTRA1. But NuScale is the project partner providing the actual reactors.

In total, the TVA SMR system could be as large as 6 gigawatts. For comparison, the largest SMR system in existence today produces just 210 megawatts from two 105 MWe (megawatt electrical) reactor modules.

TVA signed a deal for the project last September. Importantly, nothing in the agreement was binding. In other words, TVA can pull out at any time. This makes the next major catalyst the signing of a power purchase agreement (PPA). PPAs are typically binding agreements that commit a utility to purchase power from a generation facility at a fixed price, often for years or decades. Signing a PPA ensures the facility's builders will be paid for their work, clearing the way for construction to begin.

When might a PPA be signed?

"We're hopeful that TVA can come across the line at some point later this year," NuScale's CFO commented in May, speaking about the potential for a PPA. NuScale expects to move quickly once a deal is finalized. "We're in a mode right now that as soon as these PPAs are finalized, we're ready to move. By move, I mean enter into, start to call a position, start the front-end engineering design, and initiate the OEM contracts or negotiations," NuScale's CEO added in August.

If a PPA is signed, there should be plenty of upside for NuScale stock relative to today's prices. I wouldn't be surprised to see shares surpass their previous 2026 highs of around $20, implying more than 100% in potential upside. That's how heavily the market seems to be pricing in uncertainty surrounding the deal.

Pricing in that much uncertainty is reasonable given NuScale's past failures and the relative immaturity of the SMR sector overall. But a PPA would provide critical momentum to NuScale's struggling stock price, validating its business model and designs in an unprecedented way.

Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends NuScale Power. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

SpaceX (NASDAQ: SPCX) is widely considered a space stock. In reality, the company is better considered an artificial intelligence (AI) stock. Take a look at the company's IPO prospectus, and you'll quickly learn why.

"We believe we have identified the largest actionable total addressable market in human history," the company declares. "We estimate that our quantifiable TAM is $28.5 trillion."

Almost all of that total addressable market figure -- some $26.5 trillion -- relates exclusively to AI. Just $370 billion is tied to "space-based solutions." The remainder -- $1.6 trillion -- relates to SpaceX's "connectivity" segment, which primarily includes its Starlink internet and mobile services.

For SpaceX to justify its $1.8 trillion valuation, it will need to capture a large fraction of its AI opportunity. For now, however, it is Starlink that is propping up the company's financials.

Here's why SpaceX needs Starlink to succeed

When SpaceX went public this summer, analysts were high on Starlink.

"Though SpaceX was originally pitched as a space exploration company, its most profitable segment is Starlink," stressed Morningstar. "Starlink recorded an 86% increase in adjusted EBITDA between 2024 and 2025, while its total subscribers doubled."

Subscriber growth and operational leverage continued this quarter, with the company posting strong increases in sales and satellite counts, averaging more than 500,000 net subscriber additions per month. Some analysts now predict Starlink will have between 35 million and 45 million subscribers by the end of the decade.

Image source: Getty Images

While Starlink represents a tiny fraction of SpaceX's total claimed long-term growth potential, the segment is critical to the company's near-term financials. The company is flush with the proceeds of its IPO and a follow-on bond offering, but the combined entity still posted a $541 million loss last quarter. That was down from a $1 billion loss during the same period last year.

But with heavy AI-related spending expected for years to come, SpaceX will likely need to rely on capital markets for some time to fund its growth. Starlink's financial success reduces that reliance. And while AI companies aren't facing difficulties raising capital right now, conditions will likely fluctuate in the years to come. Starlink's growth and profitability will play an important role in SpaceX getting its AI ambitions across the finish line -- which will be the only way the company can justify its current gargantuan market cap.

Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Over the coming decades, nuclear energy will be a $10 trillion opportunity. That's according to Bank of America analysts, who are particularly excited about a relatively novel method of producing nuclear power: small modular reactors, or SMRs.

"Amid surging electricity demand, driven in part by the rise in AI/data centers, nuclear energy offers a potential solution," Bank of America concluded in a recent report. "And new advancements in technology may now make the tipping point in sight for small modular reactors (SMRs) to reshape nuclear energy supply chains over the next decade."

NuScale Power (NYSE: SMR) is currently the only company in the U.S. approved by regulators to build an SMR system. On a recent call with investors, CEO John Hopkins stressed that the company remains "the only SMR company in the world to have earned U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission standard design approval," adding that it has "done it for two separate designs, our 50-megawatt and our 77-megawatt modules."

Many other companies are currently working through the approval process for SMRs. But NuScale has leveraged its early approvals to secure large deals, including a 6-gigawatt project for the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). If built, that system would be the largest SMR facility in the world by a large margin.

NuScale's second-quarter numbers are already in the books, and it's expected to report Q3 earnings on Nov. 5. Only one detail will likely matter from that announcement: Has a power purchase agreement (PPA) been signed with the TVA?

A power purchase agreement would essentially lock the TVA into buying power from the project. This financial commitment would allow NuScale to begin construction.

It's hard to understate how significant a PPA would be for NuScale's business model and stock price. Right now, the market seems skeptical that the TVA project will ever move forward, and NuScale's struggling stock price and market cap under $4 billion reflect that.

To gauge how much shares could spike with a signed PPA, it's important to consider NuScale's history of failed projects.

NuScale investors must remember this failed nuclear energy project

NuScale has signed major customers before, only to see them cancel the projects before major financial commitments were made firm.

For example, in 2019, it inked a deal with the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS) to build SMRs to supply electricity to the utilities. The project's original scope called for six 77-megawatt SMR modules, generating a total of 462 MW. It was expected to enter service in 2029. Project delays and higher-than-expected costs led NuScale's utility partners to withdraw, which led to the cancellation of the whole project.

"[S]ubstantial cost overruns and delays from its originally scheduled 2026 operational date spooked utilities ... leading several to withdraw from a 2019 agreement to buy 200 MW from the reactors once completed," one industry report observed.

Before the cancellation was made public in late 2023, NuScale's stock price had already fallen by nearly 80% that year, signaling the market's lack of confidence that the deal would ever result in meaningful revenue, let alone profits.

Image source: Getty Images

"Although there were problems specific to that project, the financial challenges and cost trends witnessed in this case will afflict any small modular nuclear reactor project," one industry insider warned at the time. "In a rational world, no utility or government would invest another dime on these theoretical reactor concepts."

These fears have largely kept a lid on NuScale's stock price, even as the latest deal with TVA moves forward. A PPA would lift a large part of that uncertainty discount. And if NuScale's CFO is right, a PPA could be on the way as early as the company's next earnings announcement.

Bank of America is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends NuScale Power. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Recent comments from Elon Musk, the CEO of Space Exploration Technologies (NASDAQ: SPCX), may inadvertently help the stock price of Oklo (NYSE: OKLO), a nuclear energy developer that doesn't appear to have any direct connection to space or AI -- at least at first glance.

During SpaceX's first investor call on Aug. 11, Musk stressed to investors how much energy the company will need to scale its AI compute infrastructure.

"[O]ur tentative target is to actually have 20 gigawatts at the power and cooling level online by the end of next year," Musk revealed. "Now I don't think we're going to achieve 20 gigawatts, but we want to have a series of projects that cumulatively come to 20 gigawatts by the end of next year. Some of them won't pan out exactly on time, but I would expect that we still probably have at the power plant level, something close to 15 gigawatts. So, assuming that maybe one-fourth of the projects take longer than expected."

For comparison, New York City consumes roughly 10 gigawatts of power at peak energy demand during a summer heat wave. SpaceX, therefore, expects to soon need more power on a daily basis than the largest city in America.

Massive amounts of new energy will be needed to power an unprecedented global expansion of data infrastructure over the coming decades. With a nuclear energy system designed specifically with AI data centers in mind, Oklo is uniquely positioned to benefit. And there's a chance that Musk's recent comments will help spur an arms race for energy that ends up with Oklo being acquired.

AI investors should expect an arms race for energy

To power its data center build-out, SpaceX has relied on a wide variety of energy sources -- everything from wind and solar to natural gas. Other AI companies, however, have invested much more aggressively in nuclear. Alphabet and Microsoft, for example, have both committed to massive nuclear projects, from building new facilities to restarting old systems.

The arms race for energy is widely understood by industry experts, but it's still in its early innings. Small modular reactors (SMRs) -- essentially miniature, scalable nuclear power plants that can be built quickly and colocated with data center infrastructure -- should face unprecedented demand. By designing SMR systems with data center customers in mind, Oklo stands to directly benefit.

Image source: Getty Images.

So far, Oklo has focused on selling its systems to data center companies. In January, for example, Meta Platforms agreed to a 1.2 gigawatt SMR system. But as the energy arms race heats up, and SMR systems are increasingly validated, I wouldn't be surprised to see an AI company outright acquire Oklo to ensure it can scale as quickly as possible.

The allure of Oklo's systems to AI companies has already been made clear. Sam Altman, the CEO of Open AI -- one of the largest AI companies on the planet -- invested early in Oklo. "Oklo has extremely strong customer interest," Altman previously revealed. "There's no lack of desire or need for this."

I don't expect Oklo to be acquired anytime soon. But I wouldn't be surprised to see it happen if the company can prove its designs in real-world applications. AI companies will be that desperate to secure and control new energy sources.

Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet and Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Oklo Inc. (NYSE: OKLO) isn't strictly an artificial intelligence stock. Instead, it's better classified as a nuclear energy stock. But the company's connection to the AI industry is clear and direct.

Over the next few years, $7 trillion is expected to be spent scaling data center infrastructure. The pace and scale of this global build-out are unprecedented. While efficiency gains will undoubtedly be gained, data centers are inherently energy-intensive. And the current grid isn't nearly big enough to support the AI industry's future needs. In response, massive amounts of new energy generation capacity will be needed.

In many ways, nuclear energy is an ideal solution. "As countries now race to secure the massive amounts of energy needed for leadership in artificial intelligence, nuclear energy is newly positioned to meet the moment," a report from Goldman Sachs declares. "After decades of underinvestment, a convergence of generational technological breakthroughs, intensifying geopolitical competition, and the need for clean, dense, reliable power is positioning nuclear energy for a renaissance."

Image source: Getty Images.

Analysts from Bank of America agree. "[N]uclear energy has, in many ways, been recently 'rediscovered' amid surging electricity demand," the bank concludes. "Compared with other energy sources, it offers reliable baseload power, a smaller carbon footprint, and a higher energy return on investment."

But here's the thing: Not all nuclear energy stocks will benefit. "[T]he next nuclear age will look different from the last," warns Goldman Sachs. While plenty of conventional power plants will be built, these facilities can often take a decade or more to build. That's too slow for the likes of the AI industry. The need for speed is causing renewed interest in a relatively untried form of nuclear: small modular reactors, or SMRs. SMRs are essentially miniature, scalable nuclear reactors. This is the exact technology that Oklo specializes in.

AI investors should strongly consider Oklo stock

Oklo isn't yet approved by regulators in the U.S. to build an SMR system. Oklo had previously submitted its designs to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, but was denied in 2022. Oklo has since reapplied and has been moving successfully through the process.

A lack of approval hasn't stopped customers from signing deals with Oklo. Meta Platforms, for example, agreed to have Oklo build a 1.2 gigawatt SMR system in Ohio, though Meta has also signed deals with competing developers. The absence of a deal with OpenAI is somewhat of a surprise, given that Sam Altman, OpenAI's CEO, invested early in Oklo and served as its Chairman for a handful of years. Regardless, Oklo has garnered social validation from both industry insiders and major AI companies.

What I like most about Oklo's approach is that it's pitching its products directly to data center businesses. Other SMR competitors, for comparison, are marketing their systems to utilities, which would then deliver that power over the grid to data centers in a conventional manner. This strategy may also work. But the rapid growth in electricity demand isn't stemming from grid users in general; AI companies are by far the biggest culprit. So why not market directly to them, especially given their deep budgets and urgency, not to mention the unique ability of SMRs to be colocated with data center infrastructure?

Oklo will remain a speculative stock until it secures regulatory approvals and demonstrates it can translate its designs into real-world applications with proven costs. But the business model is undoubtedly exciting with huge long-term opportunities.

Bank of America is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Meta Platforms. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Space Exploration Technologies (NASDAQ: SPCX) CEO Elon Musk just reminded investors that energy will be a big problem for the future of artificial intelligence.

When the space company reported its first earnings on Aug. 11, Musk spent several minutes stressing how much power the company will need to support its AI data infrastructure investments.

"[O]ur tentative target is to actually have 20 gigawatts at the power and cooling level online by the end of next year," Musk revealed. "Now I don't think we're going to achieve 20 gigawatts, but we want to have a series of projects that cumulatively come to 20 gigawatts by the end of next year. Some of them won't pan out exactly on time, but I would expect that we still probably have at the power plant level, something close to 15 gigawatts."

All of this is good news for Oklo Inc. (NYSE: OKLO): one of the most popular nuclear energy stocks on the market today.

Image source: Getty Images.

Oklo could become a major SpaceX customer

Many AI investors are currently focused on the race to secure graphics processing units (GPUs). Musk, however, is equally concerned with getting new energy sources online to power the new compute infrastructure. "[O]ur goal is to have far more power, cooling, and electrical equipment than we have GPUs," he said.

SpaceX has invested heavily in bringing new power sources online, including everything from large utility-scale battery systems to conventional natural gas. Nuclear power, however, remains one of the most promising long-term solutions thanks to its low-carbon and reliable baseload characteristics.

Oklo is arguably leading the charge to power AI data centers with nuclear energy thanks to its small modular reactor (SMR) designs. SMRs are essentially miniature nuclear power plants that can be built more quickly and at a lower up-front cost than conventional nuclear power plants.

Once scaled, SMR systems are expected to have deployment times of one to three years, though some aggressive estimates suggest it could be faster. Compare that to a decade or longer for a traditional nuclear power plant, and you quickly get an idea of how SMRs can better meet AI's near-term demands for energy.

Only two SMR systems are currently in commercial operation worldwide. Oklo doesn't even have U.S. regulatory approval to build an SMR system yet. Plus, competition is heavy, with deep-pocketed industrial conglomerates pursuing their own designs.

But Oklo's systems are designed specifically with data centers in mind, the same type of infrastructure SpaceX is racing to build. Oklo's systems are so tailored for data center adoption that Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, was an early investor in the company. In fact, this is the biggest reason why SpaceX might not adopt Oklo's technology, as Elon Musk and Altman have frequently squabbled in public.

SpaceX might become Oklo's biggest customer. Or another AI company, such as Meta Platforms, which has already signed a deal with Oklo, could emerge as its most valuable partner. In either case, expect Oklo to play a key role in supplying power to the AI industry over the next decade and beyond.

Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Meta Platforms. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Under new CEO Jose Luis Crespo, Plug Power (NASDAQ: PLUG) seems to be staging an impressive turnaround.

In 2025, under its former CEO, the popular hydrogen stock posted a massive $1.7 billion loss. Compare that figure to Plug Power's $3.2 billion market cap, and you can quickly appreciate the company's dire financial position.

Last quarter, however, Plug Power posted a loss of just $188 million, a run rate below $800 million per year. While not an obvious cause for celebration, narrowing losses suggest the company is headed in the right direction. Gross profit came in at negative $1.7 million, a sizable improvement to the $53.5 million gross loss posted the year prior.

Image source: Getty Images.

While unprofitable, Plug Power's management team claims roughly $2 billion in liquidity, though only $162 million is liquid cash, with another $672 million in restricted cash.

Rising sales of its GenEco hydrogen fuel systems, as well as rising hydrogen fuel sales thanks to a larger installed base, have Wall Street fairly bullish on the embattled stock. An average 12-month price target of $3.20 per share suggests roughly 40% in potential upside. Notably, two analysts recently reaffirmed their predictions, forecasting upside of 117% and 205%, respectively.

After a brief correction, Plug Power stock is roughly flat on the year despite the seeming turnaround. Should retail investors take advantage of the pullback? You may be surprised by the answer.

Here's what Wall Street gets wrong about Plug Power's turnaround

Plug Power's turnaround seems to have real legs. Revenue is rising by double digits due to strong demand for the company's GenEco hydrogen fuel systems. Earlier this year, Plug Power secured the largest order in its history: a 275-PEM electrolyzer system for Hy2gen, a Canadian conglomerate.

Rising demand has Wall Street excited not only about revenue growth potential but also about the prospect of reaching profitability. That would be huge, since Plug Power has yet to realize sustainable profits since its founding nearly three decades ago.

The issue with Plug Power as an investment doesn't strictly have to do with the company itself but with the industry it competes in. Many expert long-term forecasts of hydrogen demand have been cut in recent years for one simple reason: Hydrogen remains uneconomic relative to competing fuels such as natural gas, wind, and solar.

"We forecast the amount of hydrogen produced in 2050 will be 35% lower than we forecast in 2022. Clean hydrogen will see an even bigger decrease of 45%," one industry report concluded earlier this month. "Like most mainstream forecasters of the energy transition, the high cost of hydrogen and the lack of policy implementation have led us to revise our outlook."

Given this dynamic, Plug Power's end market demand will largely remain reliant on government subsidies and regulatory actions. In short, the company simply doesn't control its own future. So, while turnaround efforts are gaining traction, I remain leery that Plug Power will reach sustainable profits by the end of the decade.

Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

SpaceX (NASDAQ: SPCX) CEO Elon Musk is concerned with the supply of electricity in the U.S. Over the past three months, the space company has spent $15.8 billion scaling its artificial intelligence compute infrastructure -- infrastructure that is highly energy-intensive. During SpaceX's first earnings call on Aug. 11, Musk stressed the need to scale up its energy infrastructure in tandem.

"[O]ur tentative target is to actually have 20 gigawatts at the power and cooling level online by the end of next year," Elon Musk revealed. "Now I don't think we're going to achieve 20 gigawatts, but we want to have a series of projects that cumulatively come to 20 gigawatts by the end of next year. Some of them won't pan out exactly on time, but I would expect that we still probably have at the power plant level, something close to 15 gigawatts."

Image source: The White House.

For comparison, New York City requires roughly 10 gigawatts of power during a heatwave, putting SpaceX's near-term energy needs well beyond the largest city in the U.S.

Thus far, SpaceX has relied on a variety of renewable and conventional electricity sources to power its growing data center empire. More recently, it has leaned heavily on natural gas. But in the long term, new solutions that provide large amounts of reliable, low-carbon baseload power will be needed.

It's no wonder, then, that the CEO of OpenAI -- one of SpaceX's biggest competitors -- personally invested in a relatively new approach to nuclear energy. Fortunately for investors, there are two pure-play stocks betting on that exact thesis.

Nuclear energy is perfect for artificial intelligence

In general, nuclear energy is well-suited to meeting the rising energy needs of SpaceX and other AI companies.

"Unlike wind turbines and solar arrays that generate electricity intermittently, nuclear power plants typically put out a constant supply of energy to the grid, which aligns well with what data centers need," observes an industry report by the MIT Technology Review.

The main issue with nuclear is simply how long it takes to get a new plant online. "The problem is how to build up nuclear capacity -- existing facilities are limited, and new technologies will take time to build," the MIT Technology Review warns. "To meet electricity demand from data centers expected in 2030 with nuclear power, we'd need to expand the fleet of reactors in the country by half."

This is where small modular reactors, or SMRs, can play a key role. Designs for these miniature power plants have been around for decades. Only two have ever been commercialized, however. That's because while quicker to build, SMRs aren't necessarily cheaper on a per-megawatt basis. But with deep-pocketed AI companies looking to scale energy supply as quickly as possible, adoption for SMRs may soon be on the rise. Right now, more than 80 SMR facilities are in development worldwide.

Where should investors look? There are two main options.

Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, personally invested in Oklo Inc. (NYSE: OKLO) and served as its Chairman for many years. Oklo is currently seeking regulatory approval for its designs, yet has already signed deals with several major AI companies, including Meta Platforms.

NuScale Power (NYSE: SMR) is taking an alternative approach. The company is already approved by U.S. regulators to build an SMR system and has forged deals with utility providers rather than AI data center operators. The company's deal with the Tennessee Valley Authority, for example, could result in a 6-gigawatt system being built in the eastern U.S. It would be the world's largest SMR system if built.

Importantly, neither Oklo nor NuScale have ever successfully commercialized one of their designs. And there is no guarantee that their promising project pipelines will ever translate into meaningful revenue, let alone profit. But if you're looking to bet on AI's rising power demands, these two SMR stocks should top your research list.

Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Meta Platforms. The Motley Fool recommends NuScale Power. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) is scheduled to report second-quarter earnings after market close on Aug. 26. As the biggest AI stock in the world, Nvidia's results will affect not only the company's share price but also valuations across the AI industry.

A new wrinkle will be revealed in Nvidia's upcoming earnings report. This revelation could have a sizable effect on Nvidia's stock price.

This new detail could influence Nvidia's stock price

Nvidia has become the largest AI company on the planet not by inventing AI technologies itself, but by selling its hardware to other AI businesses. The company's GPUs -- critical components that allow AI companies to train and execute their AI models -- are widely believed the be the best in the industry, with market share estimates typically at 85% or above.

Nvidia's future, therefore, relies on spending by the rest of the AI industry. But how much of this sales base consists of just a handful of hyperscalers?

Nvidia is already required to report material customers that account for more than 10% of total sales. But it isn't required to disclose the exact names of these customers. All we know is that last quarter, three customers accounted for 21%, 17%, and 16% of total revenue, respectively. It's not known, however, whether these customers are large AI companies or simply distribution intermediaries that, in turn, sell to a variety of AI customers.

Image source: Nvidia

Nvidia has warned investors of customer concentration in the past. "We have experienced periods where we receive a significant amount of our revenue from a limited number of customers, and this trend may continue," the company explained in the second quarter of last year, adding that "large cloud service providers" comprised around half of the company's data center revenue. Data center sales, meanwhile, accounted for 88% of Nvidia's overall revenue that quarter.

Analysts have long wanted more clarity into these numbers. Last quarter, Nvidia began breaking out "Hyperscaler" revenues versus "AI Clouds, Industrial & Enterprise" sales. This breakout essentially helps investors understand how much of Nvidia's sales are being driven by the AI market in general versus a handful of powerful customers, many of which are pursuing the development of their own GPUs.

Last quarter, data center revenue was remarkably balanced. Hyperscalers accounted for $37.9 billion in sales versus $37.4 billion in sales for other customers. That's pretty close to the breakdown the company alluded to this time last year.

Notably, however, hyperscaler revenues grew by just 12% versus 31% sequential growth for the rest of its customer base.

Investors should pay close attention to where these numbers head this quarter. If hyperscaler revenues spike, it could be a sign that Nvidia's chips remain in high demand among industry leaders. But it also increases Nvidia's reliance on a few customers. Last quarter, just three customers accounted for more than 50% of sales. But as mentioned, we cannot be sure if these customers are single entities or businesses that then sell to customers of their own.

Rising sales growth outside of the hyperscalers segment could also spell good or bad news. On one hand, it would lessen Nvidia's customer concentration. On the other hand, it could signal weakening demand among hyperscalers, which are desperate to reduce their own reliance on Nvidia.

What these numbers reveal, and how the market decides to interpret the data, should have an impact on Nvidia's share price after earnings are announced.

Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

The long-term growth story for nuclear power is clear. Artificial intelligence (AI) companies are scaling energy-intensive data center infrastructure as quickly as humanly possible. And the current energy grid isn't prepared for this unprecedented build-out. New energy sources will be needed quickly, and nuclear energy could deliver the reliable, low-carbon baseload power the AI industry craves.

NuScale Power (NYSE: SMR) has long appreciated this data center infrastructure demand tailwind. The company's small modular reactors (SMRs) are a great fit for adding large amounts of reliable power generation to the grid.

Image source: The Motley Fool.

This year, however, I think there's an even more exciting catalyst to pay attention to than general industry demand tailwinds.

NuScale Power could reach this critical milestone in 2026

NuScale remains the only nuclear developer in the U.S. approved by regulators to build an SMR system. But it has yet to even commercialize its approved designs. That could change later this year when the company suspects it could reach a power purchase agreement (PPA) with a major customer.

Earlier this year, NuScale's CFO predicted that a PPA could be signed by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). The TVA has agreed to pursue a 6-gigawatt SMR system, but has yet to make any firm financial commitments. A PPA would essentially commit the utility to buying power from the system at a set price for years to come, paving the way for NuScale to begin construction.

If a PPA is signed, it would be hard to overstate its importance to NuScale's business model and stock price. NuScale shares have lost 40% of their value in 2026, largely due to waning investor enthusiasm over its project pipeline. A firm commitment from the largest customer in its pipeline would sizably shift sentiment.

Whether a PPA is signed this year remains to be seen. But this potential catalyst will, should it occur, drive the company's stock price this year far more than long-term demand tailwinds for nuclear power in general.

Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends NuScale Power. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Nu Holdings (NYSE: NU) has been an incredible long-term success story. Founded in 2013, the online-only bank now has nearly 140 million customers across just three countries: Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico. Year-over-year revenue growth has consistently been in the double digits, sometimes exceeding 100%.

Some analysts worry that the fintech's biggest days of growth are behind it. After all, the competition is catching on to Nu's asset-light business model. But a few key figures from the company's recent quarterly earnings announcement suggest that the fintech stock remains a long-term buy.

1 Reason Nu Holdings stock remains my top fintech stock

As I detailed earlier this month, Nu is facing increased competition, but its competitive advantages continue to give it a durable edge. In recent years, competing banks have acquired more customers, but at the expense of declining credit quality and rising deposit costs. Meanwhile, Nu has been able to maintain high revenue and customer growth without sacrificing borrower quality or net interest margins.

Image source: Getty Images

This quarter, the company posted a consolidated cost of deposits of 88% the interbank rate, three percentage points lower than a year ago. Its efficiency ratio (a measure of how well the bank is managing operating costs) and asset quality metrics also improved.

In total, investors are seeing no indication that Nu's competitive advantages are waning. In fact, investors should come away with greater confidence in the durability of Nu's business model, as many of its key metrics continued to improve despite intensifying competitive headwinds.

Trading at less than 20 times earnings despite a durable business model and rapid revenue and profit expansion continues to make Nu stock my top fintech stock on the market today.

Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Nu Holdings. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Crypto markets are surging once again after President Trump urged Congress to pass the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act -- more commonly referred to simply as the Clarity Act -- on Aug. 20.

The Clarity Act aims to clarify federal crypto regulations by establishing a comprehensive rulebook for how crypto companies and assets will be regulated. Many industry insiders are proponents of the legislation, arguing that it will unlock growth, adoption, and innovation across the crypto space.

"We need Congress to take the next step by passing the Clarity Act – a fair version of the Clarity Act," Trump stressed. "It's a very, very powerful structured legislation which will keep us ahead of China, keep us ahead of everyone else, will open the door to the next wave of innovations and innovators."

Trump called for the passage of the Clarity Act alongside industry CEOs, including the leader of Ripple(CRYPTO:XRP), a popular crypto company that wrapped up a lawsuit filed by the SEC last year. While Ripple agreed to pay a $125 million fine, the resolution was another sign that regulators wish to move forward with a more friendly stance toward crypto businesses as a whole.

As the regulatory environment continues to improve, which cryptocurrencies are worth buying today? Perhaps surprisingly, my top pick remains arguably the most popular crypto asset of all time.

Bitcoin remains the best long-term cryptocurrency

Many cryptocurrencies have come and gone over the years. But none will ever surpass the durability of Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC).

Launched in 2009, Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency in the world. And while many new crypto assets have appeared, many with more advantageous designs for certain use cases, none will ever match Bitcoin's history. Put simply, there will never be another "first" cryptocurrency. In this way, Bitcoin's position in crypto history is rather permanent.

Image source: Getty Images

It can be tempting to expand your crypto investment universe beyond plain vanilla Bitcoin. But Bitcoin's history offers significant advantages for downside protection.

As mentioned, the sheer duration of Bitcoin's history will never be surpassed. Its historical significance in the industry will likely never be forgotten. These characteristics have led to more retail and corporate adoption of Bitcoin than any other crypto asset. In many ways, Bitcoin has become the "digital gold". It will retain appeal as a store-of-value asset simply for being itself. That's promising when you compare Bitcoin's $1.5 trillion valuation against traditional gold's $32 trillion valuation.

There will always be a slew of new, innovative cryptocurrencies better adapted to certain use cases. Ripple, for example, has designed itself specifically for cross-border transactions and corporate adoption. Ethereum (CRYPTO:ETH), on the other hand, is clearly superior when it comes to programmability and the development of a decentralized application ecosystem.

Bitcoin, meanwhile, remains a relatively "boring" blue chip crypto asset with minimal innovation. That could be a huge plus in a more friendly regulatory environment. If industry innovation accelerates, so will adoption. Already with leading market adoption, Bitcoin could further cement its competitive moat in the coming years -- much like gold has much like gold has throughout its history.

So while recent events may garner newfound attention for alternative crypto assets, Bitcoin should remain a long-term winner.

Ryan Vanzo has positions in Bitcoin and Ethereum. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Shares of Strategy Inc (NASDAQ:MSTR), formerly MicroStrategy, surged this week as the price of Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) continued to balloon. Bitcoin's price has surged by more than 20% in recent trading sessions, moving from a multi-month low of around $63,000 to above $77,000.

Strategy generated $477 million in revenue last year, mainly by selling enterprise software. But the biggest swings in the company's stock price are often related to its 840,447 Bitcoin treasury. That's roughly 4% of Bitcoin's outstanding supply, with a current valuation of roughly $65 billion.

Strategy began purchasing Bitcoin in 2020 at around $11,000. Its highest recorded purchase price was roughly $123,000 in 2025. Overall, Strategy has an average cost basis of $75,385. Before the recent price surge, the company had a multi-billion-dollar unrealized loss on its purchases. After the spike, however, Strategy is now sitting on a slight but meaningful long-term profit.

Is the Bitcoin bear market over? There are two things investors should keep in mind following the latest rally.

1. Strategy is cutting its Bitcoin position

Notably, Strategy has actually been a net seller of Bitcoin in recent weeks. Never before has Strategy reduced its Bitcoin position. But on June 2, it began with a $2 million sale. The company restarted purchases later that month. But in July, it booked a single sale of about $135 million, followed by two additional sales exceeding $100 million in August.

Meanwhile, Strategy has also been selling additional equity in its business. Taken together, Strategy seems to be adjusting its capital exposure, shoring up the price of its preferred shares through repurchases and focusing on liquidity. CEO Michael Saylor stressed that he's still a long-term Bitcoin bull. But he's now more focused on maintaining the company's Bitcoin treasury versus acquiring more Bitcoin at all costs.

While Strategy's approach doesn't speak for the entire corporate world, it is notable that one of the biggest corporate proponents of Bitcoin is clearly pulling back from its all-in commitment to the cryptocurrency.

Image source: Getty Images

2. Bitcoin's long-term potential remains lucrative

Cryptocurrencies have lost much of their luster as AI stocks have stolen the spotlight. But the long-term investment case for Bitcoin remains firmly intact. In fact, there's a single value comparison investors can lean on when assessing what Bitcoin’s valuation could be in the long term.

In the past, Bitcoin's position as the "digital gold" was much discussed. Other cryptocurrencies are better designed for transactional use. Bitcoin, however, was well-suited as a store of value, similar to gold. While more gold is mined each year, its long-term supply is relatively fixed. The same is true for Bitcoin.

Gold also has a long history of human valuation, a history that continues to sustain its social value. While it has a much shorter history, Bitcoin's position as the first major crypto use case solidifies its place in history, a position that will never be superseded.

When it comes to being the "digital gold", Bitcoin has a very strong argument. Even after the recent rally, Bitcoin's market cap remains well under $2 billion. Gold, meanwhile, currently has a total market cap above $30 billion. Without considering any other Bitcoin use case, the blue chip crypto asset continues to have lucrative long-term upside potential as a store of value alone.

Ryan Vanzo has positions in Bitcoin. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

When the Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Semi was announced in 2017, expectations were high. The global freight trucking market is currently valued at $2.2 trillion. Diesel is one of the industry's highest costs of doing business. Labor is also pricey, with 3.5 million drivers employed in the U.S. alone.

Tesla's Semi trucking platform, of course, is powered by batteries and electricity. And the company's autonomous driving technology can further reduce trucking costs. In short, many analysts believed the Tesla Semi was destined for success.

In 2018, CEO Elon Musk announced that Tesla would begin production of the Semi by sometime in 2019. Analysts were aggressive in their forecasts, with many expecting run rate production of around 25,000 per year at the start.

"We believe this could set off competition for intelligent trucks in the industry," an analyst for Morgan Stanley predicted at the time. "If the order books fill up quickly, any carrier that holds back placing its order could potentially have to wait several years to get its hands on a Tesla truck -- years during which its competitors could be running with up to a ~70% cost advantage."

That analyst viewed the Tesla Semi launch as a key catalyst for the company's stock price. "A rush by truck carriers to place Tesla truck orders and other OEMs to launch similar trucks could also be viewed by the market/investors as a key catalyst to the intelligent trucking thesis becoming 'real,'" he stressed.

Production did not actually begin until 2022. This time last year, only a couple of hundred units had been sold since inception. Despite the slow start, Tesla's Semi ambitions may finally be turning a corner.

Tesla Semi sales are beginning to heat up

On Aug. 18, Einride AB (NASDAQ:ENRD), a Swedish autonomous transport company, placed an order for 500 Tesla Semis. The company believes that the move will help it reach cash-flow breakeven by 2028. At that point, Einride management believes the company should be operating 1,500 to 2,000 self-driving trucks, many of which should be Tesla Semis.

Image source: Tesla

Einride isn't the first company to place a major Semi order this year. WattEV, a California-based trucking company, ordered 370 units in May. So while overall demand for Tesla Semis remains well below initial analyst projections, adoption potential is clearly heating up.

Higher demand likely stems from higher fuel prices and the relative economic advantage of operating an electric semitruck. But the biggest catalyst may be advances in Tesla's self-driving technology platform. "[F]ully autonomous trucking is expected to reach viability by 2032," concludes a survey of experts conducted by McKinsey & Co. Further technology advancements, however, are still necessary before mass adoption. "[A]utonomous trucks are expected to need more than $3 billion in investments in software to achieve market readiness," McKinsey & Co. observes.

With a market cap of roughly $1 trillion, Tesla has greater access to capital than nearly all of its trucking competitors. It's no wonder that Enride, a company that has invested heavily in developing its own autonomous trucking technology, opted to simply buy Tesla Semis as its hardware backend. Tesla has the capital and investment capacity needed to bring not only electric semitrucks to market but also autonomous trucking to the finish line.

Autonomous trucking is still years away from reaching mass adoption. And Tesla's Semi sales remain a drop in the bucket for the company. But rising demand should be seen not only as a vote of confidence in Tesla's Semi platform but also in its autonomous driving roadmap.

Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

It has been a rough year for many crypto assets. Ripple (CRYPTO:XRP) is no exception. The price of XRP has fallen by nearly 50% in 2026, dropping below the $1 mark for the first time in years.

Bears worry about weakening enthusiasm for blockchain projects in general and lackluster demand. Bulls point to ecosystem gains and a truly massive total addressable market.

How should investors be viewing Ripple today? The answer largely depends on one question: Will Ripple's ecosystem strategy succeed long term?

Ripple is going all-in on the XRP ecosystem

For years, the investment thesis for XRP focused on large-scale institutional adoption of its payment network. Traditional networks like the SWIFT payment network are widely used, but face transparency, speed, and cost issues. SWIFT transactions can take days to process, requiring multiple intermediaries and higher fees. Ripple, meanwhile, can process cross-border transactions in seconds with complete transparency and minimal fees.

In recent years, Ripple has invested aggressively in expanding its product ecosystem rather than directly attempting to replace conventional payment networks. Starting around 2021, the crypto project began scaling up multi-million dollar developer incentives, hackathons, and accelerator programs to encourage developers to build more decentralized applications that expand the capabilities of the XRP ledger.

The regulatory environment has also considerably improved in recent years. The project concluded an SEC investigation, received authorization under Europe's Markets in Crypto-Assets regulatory framework, launched XRP-backed ETFs, and introduced a stablecoin platform with institutional appeal.

"For years, institutional interest in XRP was expressed through OTC desks, private placements, and the kind of quiet conviction that rarely makes headlines," Ripple highlighted in a press release earlier this year. "That chapter is over." With an expanded product ecosystem and clarified regulatory pathway, the company believes mass institutional adoption will finally be made possible.

Image source: Getty Images

The market initially bought into this institutional adoption thesis, at least for a while. XRP was one of the best-performing crypto assets in 2024 and reached new all-time highs in 2025. That initial enthusiasm, however, has waned.

Importantly, the underlying fundamentals of Ripple and XRP have not changed significantly since last summer's highs. The project's ecosystem efforts remain in full swing, with just as much promise in 2026 as the year prior. What has changed, however, is the market's appetite for crypto assets in general.

Since 2026 began, the price of Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) has fallen by roughly 26%, while Ethereum (CRYPTO:ETH) has declined by around 35%. In a declining price environment, blue chip crypto assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum typically fare better than more niche projects like Ripple.

The choice for investors right now is clear. Will Ripple succeed in its long-term vision of creating a decentralized crypto platform that includes not only cross-border payment rails but also features like DeFi applications, stablecoin options, and fiat currency gateways? Without realizing this vision, it would be tough to justify the project's $62 billion valuation. And that's after this year's 45% decline.

So while Ripple's valuation has compressed aggressively, the choice for investors remains fairly static. Ripple remains a high-risk, high-reward investment vehicle. And without the successful execution of its long-term ecosystem vision, the crypto asset's valuation is difficult to back up with fundamentals.

Ryan Vanzo has positions in Bitcoin and Ethereum. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Nu Holdings (NYSE:NU) is scheduled to report second-quarter earnings on Aug. 13 after the market closes. Expectations are high.

Wall Street analysts expect Nu to report quarterly sales growth of 49%. Earnings are expected to come in at $0.19 per share, though estimates range from $0.16 to $0.21 per share. Last year, second-quarter earnings totaled $0.12 per share.

Expectations for Nu’s sales and profit growth have been high for years. The fintech stock has rapidly grown its user base across Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia. More than half of all Brazilian adults are Nu customers. And roughly 15% of Mexican adults are now Nu customers, even though the company only entered that market in 2019.

Looking ahead, analysts expect 2026 sales growth of around 41%, with 2027 sales growth of 22%. Earnings per share for 2026 are expected to be $0.58, with 2027 EPS projected to be $0.81.

Despite rosy growth expectations, Nu stock is down 19% year-to-date. And while earnings aren’t necessarily the best metric to judge a bank stock by, shares trade at just 21 times trailing earnings and less than 17 times forward earnings.

If Nu announces strong earnings, shares could pop. And there’s one catalyst I’ll be paying most attention to.

Can Nu Holdings stave off rising competition?

Nu has an incredible growth history. Seismic growth was largely made possible by weak competition. When Nu launched in 2013, its competition in Brazil — its first market — consisted mostly of stodgy incumbents that charged customers high fees for relatively simple services. These incumbents had sprawling physical branch infrastructure and thus a high cost base.

Nu was founded as a digital-first bank. It has no branches. Instead, customers access their financial services directly from a smartphone. This allowed Nu to acquire customers faster and more cheaply than the competition could afford.

Image source: Getty Images

It took Nu a little over a decade to capture 100 million customers. And the competition took notice. Other fintech operators are growing quickly across Latin America, and analysts are increasingly concerned that Nu’s core markets have already reached saturation. Fears of market saturation and rising competition are arguably the biggest weight on shares, despite impressive top- and bottom-line growth.

But here’s the thing: Nu has proven an ability to stave off the competition on the metrics that matter most.

Nu’s monthly average cost to serve per active customer — a metric that tracks how expensive it is for the company to serve a customer — has remained around $0.80 per customer for the past five years. This proves that Nu’s cost advantage over the competition is structural and durable.

Nu has also demonstrated impressive underwriting discipline. Mercado Pago, perhaps its biggest fintech competitor, has stolen customers at the cost of sacrificing margins. Nu, meanwhile, has been able to add customers while maintaining or even growing profitability.

Despite repeated evidence of its business moat, the market remains skeptical of Nu’s ability to fend off competition in the long term. I expect another positive earnings report. But whether the market rewards continued progress remains to be seen. Whether or not shares pop after second-quarter earnings is anyone’s guess. But if shares remain pressured, patient growth investors looking to buy into a long-term growth story at a discount should take a closer look.

Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Nu Holdings. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) — a popular hydrogen fuel stock — popped after announcing second-quarter earnings on Aug. 10. Investors and analysts alike were impressed by the company’s progress towards profitability. Revenue gains and cost efficiencies helped the company beat estimates for both sales and profits.

Plug Power posted an adjusted second-quarter loss of $0.07 per share. That beat Wall Street’s prediction of an $0.08 per share loss, while also handily outpacing last year’s result of an $0.18 per share loss.

Narrowed losses were helped by a 15% spike in hydrogen fuel sales, which, in turn, was driven by rising demand among the company’s growing installed customer base. Sales overall ticked higher by 2.5% year-over-year to $178.3 million, beating consensus estimates by nearly $10 million.

Analysts were particularly excited by the company’s progress towards profitability, as well as boosted sales growth guidance.

“Plug Power … reported that gross margin neared breakeven territory, marking a hefty improvement from a year ago and the first quarter,” observes Barron’s. “But the big takeaway for Wall Street was Plug Power’s decision to raise its 2026 revenue guidance growth expectation to 15% to 16%, up from the company’s previous 13% to 15% growth view.”

Plug Power’s stock is now nearly 40% higher since 2026. But over the past five years, shares remain more than 90% lower.

Should Plug Power investors trust the positive earnings report? You might be surprised by the answer.

This is the biggest problem with Plug Power stock

The last few quarters have been impressive for Plug Power. Last October, the company announced a new CEO, Jose Luis Crespo, who officially took over this March. Crespo quickly announced several strategic priorities, chief among which was turning Plug Power profitable.

Over the past decade, Plug Power has increased sales by more than 700%. Persistent losses, however, have forced it to dilute shareholders by issuing more stock. Total shares outstanding have also jumped by nearly 700% over the past decade, completely offsetting the company’s revenue gains over that time. Persistent losses, therefore, have been the main drag on shareholder returns, not revenue growth.

Image source: Getty Images

This is why Plug Power’s progress towards profitability has analysts so bullish. Plug Power has had success installing its new Gen Eco hydrogen electrolyzer systems. And a higher installed base is now generating more hydrogen fuel sales, improving operational leverage and margins.

Here’s the problem: hydrogen fuel remains largely uneconomic versus traditional renewable power sources and conventional fossil fuels. Demand forecasts for hydrogen have been consistently lowered due to uncompetitive pricing.

“We forecast the amount of hydrogen produced in 2050 will be 35% lower than we forecast in 2022. Clean hydrogen will see an even bigger decrease of 45%,” one industry forecast warned on Aug. 7. “Like most mainstream forecasters of the energy transition, the high cost of hydrogen and the lack of policy implementation have led us to revise our outlook.”

Plug Power has been impressive in recent quarters. But the company still specializes in a fuel source with limited long-term growth drivers apart from industry experimentation and government subsidies. In other words, Plug Power still operates in an unfriendly market.

Wall Street still expects Plug Power to remain unprofitability in both 2026 and 2027. This will likely trigger additional share dilution. Until the company can prove its ability to sustain positive profit margins, I’m remaining on the sidelines.

Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Space Exploration Technologies (NASDAQ: SPCX) executed a flawless IPO. At least that's the way things began. The company's underwriters rapidly sold all available stock, triggering "greenshoe" options that ultimately netted SpaceX $85.7 billion in proceeds. Shares quickly skyrocketed well above $200 despite an initial IPO price of $135. And SpaceX took advantage of the enthusiasm by executing a scaled-up $25 billion bond offering.

Since shares reached an all-time high of $225.64 on June 15, with a peak valuation of around $3 trillion, SpaceX stock has fallen off a cliff. Shares are currently 34% lower than that peak, leaving many investors underwater.

Still, SpaceX is now armed with capital, especially considering its $60 billion acquisition of AI tooling start-up Cursor was paid for in stock, not cash. Regardless of where the stock price goes from here, expect SpaceX to go on a spending spree.

How might SpaceX deploy its new cash hoard? We can glean clues from Elon Musk's "secret master plan" that he executed with Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) many years ago.

SpaceX investors should read Elon Musk's secret master plan for Tesla

On Aug. 2, 2006, Musk published a simple post on Tesla's website with no graphics. The title of the post was "The Secret Tesla Motors Master Plan (just between you and me)." In this document, Musk outlined his plan to turn Tesla into a global giant. Over the next two decades, things went surprisingly according to plan, even if Tesla's growth journey took longer than Musk initially anticipated.

What exactly did Musk's secret growth playbook consist of?

"As you know, the initial product of Tesla Motors is a high-performance electric sports car called the Tesla Roadster. However, some readers may not be aware of the fact that our long-term plan is to build a wide range of models, including affordably priced family cars," Musk began.

At the end of the post, Musk summarized the key elements of his growth vision. First, Tesla would build a sports car. Next, it would use the funds, reputation, and infrastructure gained from that effort to build an affordable car. With even greater funds and scale, Tesla would then build an even more affordable car. While doing all of this, Tesla would also pursue zero-emission electric power generation options. "Don't tell anyone," Musk cheekily signed off.

Image source: Getty Images.

Tesla's master plan -- which ultimately resulted in a $1 trillion global auto giant -- paints Musk as a surprisingly practical CEO despite his often rosy and outlandish predictions. Translating this vision to SpaceX isn't difficult.

In SpaceX's IPO prospectus, a host of wild growth opportunities are outlined, everything from establishing a permanent human colony on the moon to exploring the solar system. I believe Musk is serious about these endeavors. But given his history with Tesla, I expect SpaceX's growth journey to be much more predictable.

SpaceX's Starlink internet division is already profitable. Expect SpaceX to aggressively scale this business to generate a sustainable capital base for more ambitious opportunities. The company's rocket division is also likely profitable if you remove the heavy investment into next-gen rockets. And while SpaceX's AI division is currently unprofitable, this, too, stems mostly from the pace at which SpaceX is attempting to expand its data center infrastructure. Long-term, analysts are very bullish on this segment's revenue and profit potential.

In short, don't expect much near-term traction on SpaceX's most aggressive growth opportunities. This category includes everything from lunar-based robotics manufacturing to building a self-sustaining city on Mars with at least millions of inhabitants. For years to come, I suspect SpaceX will focus on the opportunities right in front of it, much like Musk handled Tesla's growth journey. Tesla eventually reached, or even surpassed, Musk's initial vision. But it took decades to do so. I expect the same for SpaceX.

Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

On paper, NuScale Power (NYSE: SMR) failed to meet expectations when it reported quarterly earnings on Aug. 5. The nuclear power stock reported a quarterly loss of $0.13 per share, in line with expectations. Revenue, however, came in at just $80,000 for the quarter, missing estimates by 93%. Sales were down 99% versus the quarter prior.

These are poor figures for a company that supposedly has massive long-term growth potential. Yet shares traded mostly flat following earnings, with the stock price roughly where it was before the earnings announcement.

The reality is that very little was expected of the company this quarter anyway. No major catalysts were expected to be revealed, and the company has no commercial projects underway, despite an impressive pipeline of interested customers. Revenue and profits, therefore, were always expected to be minimal and, in some ways, irrelevant to the company's long-term future.

When might a meaningful growth catalyst arrive? Good news could be on the way later this year regarding NuScale's biggest project.

NuScale Power stock could receive a massive boost later this year

Nuclear energy is experiencing a renaissance. Some of that is due to climate concerns and a rising global need for low-carbon energy sources. Most of it, however, is due to rising energy demand across the board, driven by the rapid adoption of energy-intensive AI technologies. The Energy Information Administration observes:

[W]e forecast U.S. annual electricity consumption will increase in 2025 and 2026, surpassing the all-time high reached in 2024. This growth contrasts with the trend of relatively flat electricity demand between the mid-2000s and early 2020s. Much of the recent and forecasted growth in electricity consumption is coming from the commercial sector, which includes data centers.

Still, a resurgence in electricity demand translates to just a few percentage points of annual growth, and getting new energy sources online can often take years. In short, this is a massive opportunity, but it will take decades to fully play out.

Image source: Getty Images.

Investors, therefore, shouldn't expect major revelations during every NuScale earnings release. That's especially true since the company has yet to break ground on any of its SMR deals.

Why hasn't NuScale begun construction? None of its customers have committed to payments. NuScale will only start construction once funds are legally obligated to pay for the construction. NuScale's inability to reach this milestone is a big reason why its valuation remains under $4 billion despite operating in a long-term growth market.

However, NuScale's CFO believes that a power purchase agreement could be signed by its utility customer in the U.S. by the end of 2026, committing it to buying power from the future facility, perhaps for decades to come. If a PPA is secured, construction can finally begin.

A signed PPA would likely be a huge boost to NuScale's stock price. It would provide serious social validation of the company's technology and adoption potential. It would also clear up some of NuScale's financing concerns.

To be sure, NuScale's management team has missed self-imposed deadlines before. But if you're looking for high-upside-potential stocks and are willing to take on extra risk, NuScale could be positioned for a stellar second half of 2026.

Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends NuScale Power. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Experts are increasingly bullish on the potential of nuclear energy. Multiple Wall Street companies are predicting a multi-trillion-dollar opportunity for investors.

"After decades of underinvestment, a convergence of generational technological breakthroughs, intensifying geopolitical competition, and the need for clean, dense, reliable power are positioning nuclear energy for a renaissance," predicts Goldman Sachs.

Analysts at Goldman Sachs are particularly excited about relatively new forms of nuclear power, including small modular reactors, or SMRs.

"[H]yperscalers have ... helped lead investment in the commercialization of next-generation nuclear power, namely small modular reactors (SMRs) and fusion energy," the bank's analysts conclude. "These technologies, long brushed off as too far from commercialization, are now drawing significant public and private sector support."

There aren't many publicly traded companies focused exclusively on developing SMR technology. However, there may be more on the way soon.

The two most popular pure-play SMR stocks today are undoubtedly Oklo Inc. (NYSE: OKLO) and NuScale Power (NYSE: SMR). Both have promising futures, but if you're looking for maximum growth potential, which one of these stocks is the more obvious choice?

Better SMR stock: Oklo or NuScale Power?

Both Oklo and NuScale are pursuing the development of SMRs, but each company's approach to doing so is very different.

Oklo is focused mostly on building micro-reactors directly next to or near data center infrastructure. It is the data center build-out, a result of the rapid global adoption of AI technologies, that is driving power demand growth. Designing its systems to meet the exact needs of data center operators is, therefore, a reasonable go-to-market strategy. Oklo's strategy even caught the eye of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who invested in the company early.

NuScale, on the other hand, is focused on supplying electricity to the grid through partnerships with major utilities. For example, NuScale is developing a 462-megawatts electric (MWe) SMR system in Romania. If built, it would be Europe's first commercial SMR. NuScale is also developing a 6-gigawatt SMR system in the U.S. for a major utility company. While Oklo and others are currently in the application process, NuScale is currently the only company in the U.S. approved by regulators to build an SMR facility.

Image source: Getty Images.

Here's the catch: Neither NuScale nor Oklo have ever actually built a commercial SMR system. Both companies have legitimate technologies, but application at scale remains just a theory. Whether their order books will translate into real market traction remains an open question, especially given that the SMR industry has seen massive project cancellations in the past. After a major customer canceled a NuScale project in 2024, for example, one industry report predicted that "no utility or government would invest another dime on these theoretical reactor concepts."

In short, both Oklo and NuScale remain speculative investments despite having promising growth prospects on paper. After steep corrections, both companies have market caps well under $10 billion. The combined valuation of both entities right now is close to $10 billion.

Nuclear energy, according to some analysts, will be a $10 trillion opportunity over the long term. Given the speculative nature of SMRs in general, investors may be better off including both Oklo and NuScale in their portfolios. This way, your portfolio is more exposed to SMR technology in general, rather than to a particular go-to-market approach.

Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends NuScale Power. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

The robotaxi industry is currently tiny. But in the coming years, the market should scale significantly in size. Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) has quickly emerged as a serious competitor. And looking at various market forecasts, it's not hard to see why the market is so excited about this opportunity.

Goldman Sachs estimates the global robotaxi market will reach $415 billion by 2035. The U.S. portion represents just $48 billion of that entire pie, but autonomous trucking could add even more upside to that figure. "Autonomous trucking is expected to become cheaper per mile than human-driven trucks in 2028 in the U.S.," the bank predicts, "with the global AV trucking market potentially reaching $560 billion in 2035."

In my experience, plenty of bullish research on lucrative multidecade opportunities tends to overestimate near-term growth. But the opposite is happening with Goldman Sachs and its robotaxi forecasts. Previously, the bank estimated that the robotaxi market would reach $7 billion by 2030. More recently, it has been forced to up that figure to $19 billion -- not an insignificant change.

Many Wall Street analysts are highly optimistic about Tesla's ability to capture a disproportionate amount of value from the robotaxi opportunity. Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, for example, believes Tesla will ultimately control 80% of the market. Yet Tesla has repeatedly faced challenges scaling its robotaxi business. These struggles have weighed heavily on its stock price, which has fallen nearly 30% year to date.

Looking beyond the next couple of months, however, it's not hard to see Tesla dominating this market domestically. In fact, there are two reasons to believe Tesla may end up with a pseudo-monopoly in the U.S. robotaxi market.

1. Tesla controls its means of production

Most robotaxi competitors don't fully control their means of production. This means they need to rely on a long list of third-party suppliers to build the cars needed to deploy a fleet of robotaxis.

This presents a couple of challenges. First, the growth of their fleets will be constrained by suppliers' production capacities. Second, their self-driving technology may have certain implementation challenges compared to a company with full control over the production process. Alphabet's Waymo robotaxi service, for example, has reportedly faced challenges integrating its technology with suppliers simply due to the highly confidential nature of some of its software. Finally, it typically raises costs, indirectly reducing their ability to scale and compete.

Vertical integration minimizes these challenges for Tesla. Some early data suggest this. This year, Tesla has been undercutting the competition by charging significantly less for its robotaxi rides.

"Tesla's autonomous service averages just $8.17 per ride in San Francisco -- nearly half Lyft's $15.47 average and drastically cheaper than Waymo's premium rates," observes one report. Other research has estimated that Tesla enjoys significantly lower operating costs per mile for its robotaxi fleet versus its main competitors.

Aggressive pricing may currently have more to with gathering data versus a clear structural cost advantage. But it's still somewhat reflective of Tesla's ability to keep its own costs low while stomaching short-term losses for better long-term competitiveness. Some estimates, for example, peg the cost of a Waymo autonomous vehicle at several hundred thousand apiece. Tesla, for comparison, hopes to produce Cybercabs at a price below $30,000.

Image source: Tesla.

2. AI will rule robotaxi scaling

Some of Tesla's robotaxi competitors have deep budgets and highly developed AI divisions. Alphabet's Waymo division, for example, is well funded and armed with advanced AI technology. Other competitors, however, such as Uber Technologies, have far less direct access to next-gen AI.

Given how critical AI has become for advancing self-driving technologies, Tesla's heavy AI investments and direct co-ownership of xAI, the AI division of Space Exploration Technologies, become a real advantage. Many experts believe AI is critical for achieving full autonomy, and thus operating an autonomous robotaxi fleet.

"AI is essential for autonomous driving," stresses Valeo, a global automotive technology supplier. "Without artificial intelligence, vehicles cannot detect, classify, and predict the intentions of other road users in real time, capabilities that are fundamental to safe self-driving technology."

In many ways, Tesla can be considered one of the largest AI stocks on the planet. And soon, it may merge with SpaceX, another AI giant. From a standpoint of funding and access to technology, these factors weigh heavily in Tesla's favor when it comes to its potential domination of the robotaxi market.

Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Goldman Sachs Group, Lyft, and Tesla. The Motley Fool recommends Uber Technologies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

NuScale Power (NYSE: SMR) is a nuclear energy stock with a market capitalization under $4 billion. Experts, however, believe the company is targeting a growth opportunity valued in the trillions of dollars.

According to analysts from Bank of America, nuclear energy could hold "the answer to the world's power shortages." The bank predicts nuclear energy generation capacity will triple by 2050, with investment reaching $3 trillion over the next 25 years alone. NuScale's small modular reactor (SMR) systems should capture a slice of that increased spending.

"Amid surging electricity demand, driven in part by the rise in AI/data centers, nuclear energy offers a potential solution," a report from Bank of America observes. "And new advancements in technology may now make the tipping point in sight for small modular reactors (SMRs) to reshape nuclear energy supply chains over the next decade."

NuScale stock won't have to wait decades to benefit, however. There is one growth catalyst on the way that, if achieved, should send NuScale shares soaring, potentially before 2026 concludes.

This catalyst could send NuScale Power stock soaring

NuScale stock is not for the faint of heart. Shares have fallen 40% in value this year. In 2023, shares sank as low as $2, only to surge above $50 in 2025. Today, shares hover just below $10.

In short, this is a volatile stock. And it's not hard to see why. While NuScale is the only company approved by regulators to build an SMR system, it has never actually successfully built one. In 2024, NuScale faced a major cancellation. Cost estimates continue to rise, so much so that the customer ultimately pulled out.

"The estimated costs of the project rose to $4.2 billion in 2018, then $6.1 billion in 2020, and finally $9.3 billion in 2023, after it was scaled down to 462 MW in 2021. In the end, the costs were clearly too high," reports UtilityDive.

Image source: Getty Images.

Years following that project cancellation, NuScale is once again on the verge of starting a major project. This one is a 6 GW system designed for the Tennessee Valley Authority, a utility operating on the Eastern U.S. coast. NuScale's management team believes a power purchase agreement (PPA) should be signed by the end of 2026.

If true, expect NuScale stock to surge. That's because a PPA essentially locks the customer into buying power from the SMR system at a predetermined price for years, if not decades to come. That financial commitment would finally allow NuScale to break ground, begin construction, and start generating meaningful revenue.

The market, for now, remains skeptical. Neither party has agreed to anything binding. But if a PPA is signed this year, it could set NuScale up to generate more than $1 billion in revenue by 2030 from this project alone, though exact cost and revenue expectations have yet to be released.

If there are delays to this deal, NuScale may be forced to dilute shareholders again to remain financially solvent until one of the deals in its pipeline gains real-world traction. But if things move forward as planned -- a big "if" given NuScale's history -- it's not hard to see the company's market cap soaring significantly as the market erases the discount associated with its ability to execute on its project pipeline.

Bank of America is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends NuScale Power. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

SpaceX (NASDAQ: SPCX) and Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) are preparing for a megamerger. At least that's what a growing number of reporters and experts believe.

"Investors and analysts have long speculated about the ⁠possibility of combining Musk's electric vehicle and space firms, with the discussion intensifying during SpaceX's record $75 billion initial public offering ​process," Reuters reports.

SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has done little to temper the speculation.

"As you can tell from the many collaborations on so many fronts with SpaceX, there's more and more overlap ... We can't ​talk about, you know, combining companies and that kind of thing on an earnings call," Musk recently told investors. "It's ​got to be done with the appropriate process."

How likely is a potential megamerger? "I would put the odds that these two will combine at 90% today," ​one industry analyst revealed after hearing Musk's comments. "If you were going to ask me yesterday, I would have ​said it's 80%."

While I'm not sure the odds are that high, I do believe it's more likely than not that a merger will eventually be attempted. And there's one obvious reason why.

Here's why Tesla and SpaceX will eventually try to merge

Speculation surrounding a potential merger between Tesla and SpaceX stems from several fronts.

First, the two companies already work very closely together. Take a look at SpaceX's IPO prospectus, and you'll see Tesla mentioned more than 80 times. The two companies are already partnering on a variety of projects, including a massive chip manufacturing facility, Starlink integration for Tesla's Cybercabs, AI agent Digital Optimus, and Macrohard, an agentic artificial intelligence platform.

The two companies also already buy each other's services. SpaceX, for example, has purchased hundreds of millions of dollars of Tesla Megapacks: large battery systems that can help power SpaceX's AI data centers. Tesla, meanwhile, owns a direct stake in xAI, SpaceX AI division, and will likely be reliant on that business's products and services to help scale its robotaxi and self-driving car efforts.

Image source: Getty Images.

Both Tesla and SpaceX are increasingly focused on becoming AI powerhouses. Given that AI development is largely a function of compute power, access to funds, and access to data, a megamerger brings many direct benefits.

The biggest reason I suspect a megamerger is on the horizon, however, is Musk's ownership stakes. Musk only owns around 15% of Tesla's outstanding shares. That has created difficulties for him personally. Many shareholders voted against his proposed pay package, though the efforts did ultimately pass. And while Musk owns just 42% to 46% of SpaceX's outstanding shares, he controls more than 80% of the voting power.

Depending on how a deal was structured, a merger between Tesla and SpaceX could give Musk full control over the combined entity. I wouldn't expect Musk to pursue a deal if that meant giving up control over SpaceX and Tesla. The benefits for him personally would be far less in such a situation.

"The most important additional reason a merger makes sense is that Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk wants to consolidate his companies into one conglomerate," observes Morningstar. "This would allow him to run all their operations under one roof without tripping on as many governance issues."

So while a merger makes sense on multiple fronts, it may simply come down to one question: Will a merger benefit Elon Musk, whose voting power is ultimately needed to execute such a merger? If the answer is yet, expect the firms to attempt a tie-up. Whether regulators approve such a deal, however, remains to be seen.

Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Aggressive growth investors understand that to substantially increase their portfolio's growth prospects, they typically must accept greater risk and volatility. As the saying goes, there's no such thing as a free lunch.

The trick is to find the best balance between upside potential and added risk. NuScale Power (NYSE: SMR), a popular nuclear energy stock, could strike the ideal balance. The company is pursuing a multi-trillion-dollar growth opportunity and yet trades at a market cap of just $3.5 billion.

There are reasons for NuScale's discounted valuation. But, that sizable discount may shrink substantially later this year if the company reports positive progress on one critical growth catalyst.

If you're looking to maximize the growth potential of your portfolio, this could be your chance.

Here's why NuScale Power stock is an ideal choice for aggressive growth investors

NuScale's technology focuses on small modular reactors, or SMRs. Only a few of these miniature nuclear power plants are currently in operation worldwide. However, at least on paper, they are faster, simpler, and cheaper to get online than larger conventional nuclear power plants. That makes them a perfect fit for meeting the AI industry's rapidly rising demand for energy.

Image source: Getty Images.

Experts increasingly expect nuclear power to receive a massive jump in investment over the coming years and decades. But as a report from Goldman Sachs warns, "the next nuclear age will look different from the last." Conventional nuclear power plants will still receive plenty of investment, perhaps even the majority. But relatively untried approaches like SMRs will also see plenty of interest and adoption. Goldman Sachs reports:

SMRs use the same fission reaction as traditional nuclear plants but utilize different reactor designs for a smaller footprint and better safety features. With only three operational SMRs in the world (in Russia, China, and Japan), SMRs are still several years away from commercializing at scale. However, investor interest has been growing, driven by the conviction that nuclear energy will be crucial to powering ambitions in AI.

Investors looking to bet on SMR adoption should take a strong look at NuScale. NuScale is currently the only company approved by U.S. regulators to build an SMR system, though many other companies are currently in the approval process. NuScale also has several major customers in its project pipeline, headlined by a 6-gigawatt system ordered by the Tennessee Valley Authority, a major U.S. utility.

The question isn't whether SMR systems are a good fit for AI's rising power needs. Nor is there uncertainty regarding NuScale's ability to get an SMR system approved by regulators and then ordered by customers. Instead, the issue plaguing NuScale stock right now is execution risk.

In 2024, NuScale faced the cancellation of a major SMR project. Industry experts were pessimistic about the company's future, as well as the future of SMR technology in general. "Although there were problems specific to that project, the financial challenges and cost trends witnessed in this case will afflict any small modular nuclear reactor project," reported UtilityDive at the time. "In a rational world, no utility or government would invest another dime on these theoretical reactor concepts."

On paper, NuScale has huge upside potential, and a major catalyst in the form of a signed power purchase agreement for its Tennessee Valley Authority project could arrive by the end of the year. But the market is clearly pricing a lot of caution into NuScale stock. That could spell opportunity for aggressive growth investors.

Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends NuScale Power. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Lucid Group (NASDAQ:LCID) is finally waving the white flag. After years of consistent financial losses and a struggling stock price, management formally announced an “operational reset” during an investor call on Aug. 4.

According to a press release, the operational reset will focus on executing “four must-win projects.” Lucid investors, as well as investors of other EV stocks, should pay close attention to Lucid’s four areas of focus.

Lucid will focus on these four key opportunities

The first priority for Lucid is getting its finances in order. The company’s market cap currently hovers around $2.5 billion. That’s significantly smaller than peers including Rivian (NASDAQ:RIVN) and Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA).

Tesla, meanwhile, is profitable, while Rivian has been able to generate consistent positive gross margins in recent quarters. Lucid posted a $1.03 billion loss this quarter on just $405 million in revenue. And while the company ended the quarter with $3 billion in total liquidity, it finished with just $733 million in cash and cash equivalents, far short of the $1.86 billion analysts expected.

Given its financial reality, Lucid plans to execute a $1.4 billion plan to shore up cash flows. It expects to realize $600 million to $800 million in cash flow by liquidating inventory, $500 million by cutting capital expenditures, and $200 million through various cuts to operating expenses.

Image source: Getty Images

The other three areas of focus include: ramping its robotaxi efforts, finalizing its new manufacturing plant in Saudi Arabia, and releasing more mid-sized vehicles with affordable price points.

On a call with investors, management stressed that its robotaxi efforts are “a top priority and indeed a must-win project for Lucid.”

“Independent estimates project that 2.5 million robotaxis will be operating globally in 2035,” Lucid’s management claims. “That is less than 10 years from now, and the total addressable market for robotaxi vehicles will grow to $600 billion by 2040.”

Other experts agree. “We think $8 trillion to $10 trillion for the entire autonomous taxi opportunity throughout the world, from almost nothing,” is possible, says Cathie Wood, CEO of Ark Invest. “That’s how quickly AI is going to cause these things to happen.”

On paper, Lucid’s restructuring plan is very reasonable. Its financials are in disarray despite reliable funding from its Saudi Arabian partners. Uber Technologies (NYSE:UBER) has also directly backed the company in the hopes that Lucid can supply it with the vehicles necessary to expand its robotaxi fleet. Shoring up its cash flows is a must if it wants to execute on its many growth opportunities spanning from robotaxis to releasing affordable vehicles manufactured at its new production facility.

But here’s the problem: all of Lucid’s growth opportunities are capital intensive. And yet financial constraints are forcing the company to pull back on capital expenditures. So while the company has plenty of growth catalysts ahead, it’s not clear that it will be able to afford pursuing all three.

Additionally, there’s the problem of misaligned incentives. Most of Lucid’s voting power is now controlled by Saudi Arabian interest groups and Uber Technologies. The Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund is invested, assumedly, for national interests. Uber, meanwhile, mostly cares about Lucid’s ability to produce physical vehicles for its robotaxi platform.

In short, while Lucid’s controlling investors care about the company’s fate, they aren’t necessarily as aligned with minority investors about creating long-term value through a rising stock price. Put simply, I’ll be remaining on the sideline when it comes to investing in Lucid shares.

Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Tesla and Uber Technologies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

From a stock price perspective, Uber Technologies (NYSE:UBER) has struggled this year. Shares are down 20% year-to-date.

From a business perspective, however, things seem to be going quite well. The company reported earnings on Aug. 5, and many experts were impressed by the results. Gross bookings surged 22% year-over-year. The number of trips, meanwhile, grew by 18%, suggesting Uber has been able to flex some pricing power.

Most impressively, Uber was able to post roughly $2 billion in operating income, up 40% versus the year prior. That income translated to diluted earnings per share of $1.17. Uber struggled to achieve profitability in its early years. But the company has been consistently profitable over the last two years.

Uber’s core business isn’t very capital intensive. Its drivers are typically the ones purchasing and maintaining their equipment. That has allowed higher earnings to translate into higher cash flows.

“[T]railing twelve-month free cash flow exceeded $10 billion for the first time in Uber’s history,” Uber announced, “giving us the flexibility to both invest for the future and pursue strategic opportunities, while continuing to reduce our share count.”

Where exactly will Uber be investing its new cash? There’s one obvious answer: robotaxis.

Can Uber dominate the robotaxi market?

I have long been a fan of Tesla’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) robotaxi ambitions. A growing number of experts believe that robotaxis will be a multi-trillion-dollar market. Some even believe the global market will one day be worth $10 trillion. Tesla not only has impressive access to capital, but it also has the ability to manufacture its own self-driving vehicles.

For now, Uber does not share all of these advantages. While profitable with positive cash flows, Uber is just 13% the size of Tesla That limits its relative ability to raise capital. Uber also doesn’t have the ability to produce its own vehicles. That’s why it has forged deals with the likes of Lucid Group (NASDAQ:LCID) and Rivian (NASDAQ:RIVN), companies that have committed to delivering tens of thousands of vehicles to help power Uber’s future robotaxi fleet.

Image source: Getty Images

Make no mistake, Uber is well-positioned to compete in the robotaxi market long term. The company has invested aggressively to shore up its weaknesses.

During the latest earnings call, management stressed that it would continue taking direct equity positions in key suppliers, shoring up their balance sheets to ensure those suppliers not only stay in business, but produce products for the benefit of Uber’s robotaxi roadmap.

Unlike Uber’s legacy business, however, robotaxis are already proving to be capital intensive. “Uber would need billions of dollars over the next four to five years to support autonomous-driving partners as they scale,” a report from Reuters warns. Shares actually fell in value after Uber reported earnings on Aug. 5, largely due to investor concerns regarding capital allocation.

Uber is clearly committed to pursuing robotaxis. And it’s not hard to understand why. If autonomous vehicles become the norm, ride-sharing services would experience a sudden transformation. If Uber lacks a robotaxi fleet, its ability to compete long-term would suffer.

With production capabilities already paid for and online, Tesla clearly has the advantage in pursuing robotaxis. But Tesla’s market cap is also considerably higher. The choice for investors here is simple: invest in the leader at a premium, or bet on the laggard trading at a much lower valuation.

Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Tesla and Uber Technologies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is creating several multi-trillion-dollar opportunities. Some experts, for example, believe robotaxis will one day be a $10 trillion market. That has been made possible by rapid advancements in AI, which in turn are rapidly improving self-driving capabilities.

There's also the ongoing data center build-out, which some experts believe is a $7 trillion opportunity over the next few years alone. The list goes on and on. Put simply, AI is a transformational technology. Wall Street doesn't want investors to miss their opportunity.

Below are two stocks that certain analysts are highly bullish on.

Image source: Getty Images.

1. Rigetti Computing

Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ: RGTI) is technically a quantum computing stock, but the future of quantum computing is heavily intertwined with advancements in AI. Quantum hardware shares many components with AI, and both technologies will likely be used in tandem for future applications.

Nine analysts actively cover Rigetti stock. Six have a "buy" rating on shares, while the other three have a "hold" rating. The average price target is $30.71, suggesting around 90% upside potential from the current price over the next 12 to 18 months.

The most bullish analyst covering Rigetti stock is John McPeake from Rosenblatt Securities, a boutique investment bank. His price target of $40 suggests roughly 150% in potential upside. McPeake reiterated his prediction on July 29.

In June, David Rivas, the Chief Technology Officer of Rigetti, sold 499,328 shares for $12.7 million. Rigetti also still hasn't fully resolved concerns regarding its technology development and product release delays. Technical and commercial scaling challenges remain a major drag on the company's stock price, which has fallen roughly 30% year to date.

Still, McPeake is bullish on Rigetti's ability to overcome these challenges. Given quantum computing's unparalleled ability to process complex data and assist with the development and execution of AI models, Rigetti looks like an intriguing stock exposed to both quantum and AI tailwinds, trading at a discount to both previous trading levels and Wall Street expectations.

2. SoundHound AI

SoundHound AI (NASDAQ: SOUN) is more directly exposed to AI than Rigetti Computing, as it derives most of its revenue from AI products and services. Year to date, shares are down 42% in value. But all four Wall Street analysts who cover the stock have a "buy" rating, with an average price target of $12.75, suggesting around 110% upside.

Scott Buck of H.C. Wainwright, a New York investment bank, is the most bullish analyst. His price target of $20 implies around 228% in potential upside.

Earlier this year, Buck pointed out SoundHound AI's strong sales growth. Both new customers and customer renewals helped SoundHound AI achieve 100% sales growth in 2025. Strong sales growth, Buck believes, will help the company reach positive adjusted EBITDA margins by late 2026.

SoundHound AI reports earnings on Aug. 5. Earlier this week, I commented on the upcoming report, saying:

Wall Street remains bullish on SoundHound AI largely because analysts believe the company can accelerate the cross-selling of products to existing customers. This would not only accelerate sales growth beyond simply acquiring new customers but also boost margins, as selling to existing customers usually doesn't involve the high costs of acquiring new customers.

That lines up cleanly with Buck's investment thesis. Progress on cross-selling products and margin expansion will strongly influence SoundHound AI's stock once earnings are announced.

Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends SoundHound AI. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.