New York, May 7, 2026, 19:02 (EDT)
NuScale Power Corp. slid late Thursday, after the company posted a bigger first-quarter loss and revenue tumbled, burning through $314.7 million in operating cash. Shares last traded at $11.48 in the after-hours session, off 8.7%, following a 6.95% drop to $12.58 at the close, according to MarketScreener.
The report dropped while investors are grappling with how to value the nuclear expansion driven by data centers and artificial intelligence demand. NuScale stands out as a public SMR play—small modular reactors aiming to deliver smaller-scale nuclear power—helped by regulatory tailwinds but still light on steady revenue.
This quarter takes on extra weight for the company. Executives point to U.S. power demand ramping up, fueled by AI rollouts, cloud growth, and a wave of digital spending. Its next shot in the U.S.—the ENTRA1 Energy project with the Tennessee Valley Authority—remains up in the air, hinging on securing power purchase deals.
First-quarter revenue dropped sharply to $565,000—down from $13.4 million a year ago, according to a filing. The company’s net loss deepened, hitting $46.7 million versus last year’s $30.4 million. Loss per Class A share came in at 14 cents; that’s wider than the 11-cent loss posted a year earlier.
NuScale pointed to the lack of prior RoPower tech-license revenue and the end of Fluor’s front-end engineering and design for the Romania project—wrapped up late 2025—as key drivers behind the revenue decline. R&D costs climbed $3.7 million, with more spending on NuScale Power Module components. On top of that, other expenses jumped $10 million as staffing shifted focus to supply chain and project readiness.
Cash remains the buffer here. As of March, NuScale reported $341.1 million in cash and cash equivalents, along with $549 million held in short-term investments—no debt on the books. There’s also $962.1 million worth of Class A shares left that could be sold through its at-the-market program, allowing for gradual share sales.
Chief Executive John Hopkins pointed to surging demand for reliable, carbon-free energy, saying it “has never been greater.” NuScale wrapped up the quarter holding $1 billion in liquidity, broadened its supply-chain deal with Framatome, and reported advances in the TVA project. “We are building the infrastructure that this pivotal moment requires,” Hopkins said. NuScale Power
Three items were flagged by the company: ENTRA1 is still teaming up with TVA, moving forward on plans for as much as 6 gigawatts of NuScale SMR capacity; SN Nuclearelectrica shareholders signed off on the next RoPower phase in Romania; and the Framatome fuel-supply deal got a boost. But none of these, on its own, alters the near-term revenue outlook.
Chief Financial Officer Ramsey Hamady told the earnings call that NuScale’s liquidity topped $1.2 billion as of early May. He called the sector early-stage, with companies chasing technology “which hasn’t been deployed.” Hamady also noted that NuScale had taken a conservative tack with its balance sheet. MarketBeat
Competitive pressures are shifting. On May 6, Oklo announced that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission had cleared the principal design criteria topical report for its Aurora powerhouse in Idaho—an approval Oklo says should cut down on re-review for future filings. X-Energy, which counts Amazon among its backers, pulled in $1.02 billion from an IPO in April, highlighting continued investor appetite for advanced nuclear ventures, despite persistent project risks.
But things aren’t locked in. NuScale flagged that the RoPower pre-EPC stage still hinges on funding lining up. Over at TVA, progress comes down to whether ENTRA1 and TVA actually seal power purchase agreements. If later requirements are satisfied, ENTRA1 might also owe more milestone payments. On top of that, the company’s facing shareholder class-action and derivative lawsuits, and it says it can’t pin down how much those cases might cost.
Right now, investors seem to care less about regulatory wins or piles of cash; what they really want are firm contracts and predictable income. NuScale’s first-quarter results made that disconnect hard to miss.
