Nuclear energy is having a moment right now, and honestly, it's pretty hard to ignore. Between Trump's push to expand nuclear capacity and AI data centers desperately needing reliable power, the whole sector is heating up. If you've got some cash to deploy in publicly traded nuclear power companies, there are definitely some interesting plays worth considering.

I've been watching Constellation Energy pretty closely lately. The company basically dominates the nuclear space in the U.S. — it's the largest operator of nuclear plants in the country and the leading producer of carbon-free energy. What's wild is the deal flow. They just signed massive long-term power agreements with Microsoft and Meta to supply energy to their data centers. We're talking 20-year contracts here. The company is even restarting Three Mile Island's Unit 1 just to meet Microsoft's demand. That's the kind of concrete validation you don't see every day.

On top of that, Constellation is in the middle of acquiring Calpine for around 16.4 billion dollars, which would nearly double their generating capacity to 60 gigawatts. The deal makes them a serious player in the AI data center markets, especially in Texas where demand is exploding. They're also returning cash to shareholders through dividends and buybacks, which is always a nice touch.

But if picking individual stocks feels risky, there's another angle. The VanEck Uranium and Nuclear ETF (NLR) gives you exposure to the entire nuclear ecosystem — uranium miners, reactor developers, utilities, suppliers, the whole chain. The top holdings include Oklo, which focuses on small modular reactors, Cameco for uranium services, and Centrus Energy for enrichment. It's basically a one-ticket way to bet on the nuclear wave without putting all your eggs in one basket. The expense ratio is reasonable at 0.56%, and it pays a small dividend too.

Honestly, whether you go with a direct play like Constellation or diversify through an ETF depends on your risk appetite. If you're bullish on growth and want concentrated exposure, Constellation is hard to beat. But if you'd rather spread the bet across multiple publicly traded nuclear power companies and adjacent businesses, the ETF route makes sense. Either way, the nuclear narrative is real, and the demand from data centers isn't going away anytime soon.