New York, January 5, 2026, 11:57 EST — Regular session
Shares of Centrus Energy Corp climbed 4.8% to $285.60 by late morning, after rising as much as 9.0% earlier in the session, following a report that the U.S. is awarding the nuclear fuel supplier $900 million. Trading volume was about 817,000 shares, with the stock ranging from $275.00 to $297.05.
The proposed award lands as Washington pushes to rebuild a domestic supply chain for low-enriched uranium, or LEU — the standard fuel used by most nuclear power reactors. The Energy Department has said Russia holds about 44% of global uranium enrichment capacity and supplies roughly 35% of U.S. imports for nuclear fuel; a 2024 ban on Russian LEU imports took effect in August 2024, with waivers set to end by January 1, 2028.
Centrus also sits in a narrower market for high-assay low-enriched uranium, or HALEU — uranium enriched to just under 20% uranium‑235 that many advanced reactor designs plan to use. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission says Centrus subsidiary American Centrifuge Operating holds an active license for its American Centrifuge Plant, and the company has a Department of Energy contract tied to demonstrating HALEU production.
Bloomberg Government reported the $900 million for Maryland-based Centrus would support development of next-generation reactor fuel, with parallel awards going to Peter Thiel-backed enrichment startup General Matter and to an Orano SA subsidiary planning an enrichment facility in Tennessee. The awards total $2.7 billion, the report said.
Centrus has been laying groundwork for a bigger buildout at Piketon, Ohio, and has framed that effort as tied to federal funding decisions. “This is an important step forward … to enrich uranium at a large scale — as quickly as possible,” Chief Executive Amir Vexler said in a December 11 company release. PR Newswire
For traders, the stock’s reaction shows how sensitive the name is to federal dollars and policy signals around domestic enrichment — a bottleneck in the nuclear fuel cycle. The key question is whether the headline award turns into installed capacity and contract volumes on a timeline investors can underwrite.
Investors will also be watching for clarity on the mechanics: how quickly funds are disbursed, what milestones must be met, and whether Centrus needs additional customer commitments to justify a faster expansion beyond government-backed programs.
One risk is dilution. A November 6 prospectus supplement showed Centrus has an “at-the-market” program — a structure that allows a company to sell shares into the open market over time — for up to $1 billion of common stock, and it warned that significant share issuance could pressure the trading price.
Technically, traders were eyeing the $300 area after the early spike near $297. A slip back toward the mid-$270s would put focus on whether Monday’s move was a one-day reaction or the start of a steadier repricing.
