X-Energy (NASDAQ: XE), a developer of small modular reactors (SMRs), went public at $23 per share on April 24. But today, it trades at just $14. Let's see why X-Energy's stock dropped below its IPO price, and how it compares to three other popular nuclear energy stocks: Oklo (NYSE: OKLO), NuScale (NYSE: SMR), and BWX Technologies (NYSE: BWXT).

What does X-Energy do?

X-Energy's Xe-100 SMRs are much smaller than conventional nuclear reactors. A single Xe-100 generates only 80 MWe, whereas traditional reactors generate over 1,000 MWe. However, the Xe-100 can be deployed in modular "four packs" to expand a plant's capacity.

SMRs can be more easily deployed in remote and off-grid areas. It's already landed major deals with Amazon, Dow, and Energy Northwest (a joint operating agency for public utility districts and municipalities across Washington state).

X-Energy has been scaling up its fuel production capacity to meet that demand, but it doesn't expect to deploy its first commercial reactors until the early 2030s. In 2025, the company still generated $109 million in revenue from its engineering services, government grants, and technical partnerships, while posting a net loss of $390 million. For 2026, analysts expect its revenue to rise another 94% to $212 million as its net loss widens to $430 million.

With a market cap of $4.1 billion, X-Energy trades at 19 times this year's sales. So even though it's dropped nearly 40% below its IPO price, it still can't be considered a bargain.

How does X-Energy compare to Oklo, NuScale, and BWX?

Oklo, NuScale, and BWX are also developing smaller nuclear reactors, but they've all adopted different technologies and strategies. Oklo develops microreactors, which are even smaller and only generate 1.5 MWe. They can also be chained together in their modular plants.

NuScale, which produces a 77 MWe SMR, is more comparable to X-Energy. But NuScale still uses conventional light-water reactor (LWR) technology and standard uranium rods. In contrast, X-Energy's Xe-100 uses high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGRs) that consume TRISO (tri-structural isotropic) particle fuel. That key difference enables the Xe-100 to withstand much higher temperatures than NuScale's water-cooled SMRs.

Even though HTGR microreactors could be much safer than conventional reactors, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has only approved LWR designs (including NuScale's) so far. NuScale also expects to deploy its first microreactors in the early 2030s.

BWX -- the only large-scale manufacturer of specialized nuclear components, fuel systems, and naval reactor systems in North America -- sells smaller, transportable microreactors that generate 1-5 MWe. But that's only a small part of its massive business, which generates most of its revenue by selling reactors, fuel, and nuclear components to the U.S. Navy.

Is X-Energy's stock worth buying today?

X-Energy has several glaring weaknesses. First, it depends on a specific TRISO pebble fuel that isn't as readily available as uranium. To scale its business, it needs to ramp up the production of that proprietary fuel through its TRISO-X subsidiary.

Second, it trails far behind NuScale and other LWR SMR makers in regulatory clearance. Since TRISO pebble fuel is a newer and untested technology, the NRC will need to view it through a different lens before approving its first reactor designs. Lastly, X-Energy will remain overshadowed by bigger and more profitable nuclear giants -- like BWX -- in this unforgiving market for speculative, unprofitable companies trading at premium valuations.

While X-Energy's stock might take off once it clears its regulatory hurdles, increases its fuel production, and starts deploying its first commercial reactors, it will remain under pressure as long as rising Treasury yields continue to drive investors away from riskier stocks. Therefore, I'd avoid X-Energy and stick with more resilient market leaders like BWX.

Leo Sun has positions in Amazon. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon and BWX Technologies. The Motley Fool recommends NuScale Power. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Experts increasingly agree that nuclear energy presents a compelling long-term opportunity for investors.

Research from Bank of America projects nuclear to be a $10 trillion global opportunity over the next couple of decades. The benefits won't be evenly spread throughout the nuclear sector, however.

The majority of the nuclear renaissance will be dominated by conventional nuclear power plants. Many big tech companies, for instance, are either restarting old nuclear reactors or constructing new facilities. Starting around 2030, however, Bank of America believes a relatively new kind of nuclear energy will begin scaling: small modular reactors, or SMRs. By 2050, up to 20% of the world's nuclear power would come from SMRs.

"Amid surging electricity demand, driven in part by the rise in AI/data centers, nuclear energy offers a potential solution," concludes Bank of America's research. "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."

From this perspective, SMR stocks including NuScale Power (NYSE: SMR) and Oklo (NYSE: OKLO) appear like promising investments, especially considering both companies have seen their valuations drop by roughly 50% this year. But as Bank of America's research suggests, mass SMR adoption could still be decades away. With how capital-intensive the industry is, both companies could face serious challenges during a bear market or economic weakness.

Can NuScale and Oklo survive a market crash? The answer is likely yes. But understanding how a sell-off could impact each company is critical before making an investment.

Here's how NuScale and Oklo could suffer during a market crash

SMR adoption is expected to rise globally over the coming decades. Importantly, only two SMR systems are currently in commercial operation. More than 80, however, are in development.

Given this, NuScale and Oklo have yet to successfully commercialize any of their SMR designs, despite both companies having impressive customer pipelines. NuScale may not get its first SMR project online until the 2030s. Oklo may get a system online sooner, but the company isn't even approved by U.S. regulators to begin deployment. Some of Oklo's bigger projects, meanwhile, have a start date of 2030 or later.

Building nuclear power plants, even miniature ones, is capital-intensive. So until Oklo and NuScale actually get a project up and running, investors should expect both companies to continue producing losses. Last quarter, NuScale posted a net loss of roughly $355 million, whereas Oklo lost around $105 million.

This is where both Oklo and NuScale could get in trouble during a market downturn. Both companies have impressive technologies chasing lucrative long-term growth runways. But continued losses, coupled with distant revenue streams, force these nuclear developers to rely on capital markets to survive. This summer, NuScale unveiled a $750 million share sale. Weeks later, Oklo announced its own $1 billion share sale.

Share sales dilute shareholders. When equity prices are high, this dilution is less impactful. When stock market prices fall, however, dilution can be onerous.

Given each company's liquidity position, NuScale and Oklo won't be facing severe financial constraints anytime soon. If their share sales are executed as planned, insolvency risk drops even further. That should prove true even during a market correction.

What could happen during a market crash, however, is a heavy amount of shareholder dilution at rock-bottom prices. This is what investors should be worried about during a bear market.

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.

Key takeaways Georges-Louis Bouchez (MR) heeft tijdens een RTL-interview zijn steun uitgesproken voor de herinvoering van een dagelijkse meldplicht voor werklozen. Terugkeer naar vroegere praktijken Deze praktijk, die tot doel had zwartwerk tegen te gaan, bestond sinds 1991 niet meer in het Belgische systeem. Hoewel de dagelijkse meldplicht was vervangen door een maandelijkse meldplicht, werd […]