Fluor: A Compelling Entry Point for Nuclear Stocks in 2026

The nuclear energy sector is experiencing unprecedented momentum as governments and enterprises worldwide commit to carbon-free power generation. Within this landscape, investors seeking exposure to nuclear stocks face a choice: invest directly in volatile uranium miners and emerging reactor manufacturers, or consider infrastructure companies positioned to benefit from decades of nuclear buildout. Fluor Corporation (NYSE: FLR) represents the latter category—a largely overlooked player that could see substantial gains as the nuclear renaissance accelerates through 2026 and beyond.

While many investors recognize Fluor as an engineering and construction firm, the company’s strategic positioning in nuclear infrastructure reveals far greater potential. By diversifying into nuclear energy infrastructure while simultaneously reducing operational risk through contract restructuring, Fluor is quietly positioning itself as a cornerstone player in this transformative industry shift.

Why This Engineering Giant Is Redefining Nuclear Infrastructure

Fluor operates as a global leader in designing, constructing, and managing large-scale infrastructure projects across diverse sectors including energy, mining, and industrial manufacturing. Its core competency—translating complex engineering requirements into operational facilities—has become increasingly valuable in the nuclear sector, where specialized expertise is scarce.

The company’s nuclear credentials run deeper than most investors realize. Fluor was an early and substantial investor in NuScale Power, the only U.S. company to receive certified small modular reactor (SMR) design approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. This wasn’t passive portfolio holdings; Fluor actively served as a contractor, playing instrumental roles in NuScale’s project development. The RoPower nuclear facility in Romania, currently under construction, exemplifies this partnership—Fluor is directly responsible for helping bring this generation of advanced reactors to operational status.

Recognizing the significant appreciation in NuScale’s valuation following regulatory approval, Fluor executed a strategic decision: the company began divesting its NuScale stake last October and plans to fully exit this position by mid-2026. Rather than sit idle, Fluor is channeling these proceeds into repurchasing $1.3 billion of its own stock, which management believes carries substantial undervaluation in the market.

Early Positioning in NuScale’s Small Modular Reactor Revolution

The relationship between Fluor and NuScale illustrates why infrastructure companies warrant consideration alongside reactor manufacturers when constructing a nuclear stocks portfolio. NuScale designs and certifies reactors; Fluor translates these designs into physical facilities. The two companies are symbiotically linked—NuScale cannot scale without builders, and Fluor’s future growth depends on projects like RoPower multiplying across geographies.

By 2026, the nuclear sector should see accelerating project announcements as utilities and industrial users order NuScale reactors for everything from hydrogen production to data center power. Each project announcement means construction contracts flowing to firms like Fluor. Investors betting on the SMR revolution implicitly depend on companies with Fluor’s execution capabilities, yet the market often fails to recognize this dependency.

The $30 Billion Pantex Contract: A Recurring Revenue Engine

Beyond commercial nuclear opportunities lies an even more substantial contract: Fluor’s involvement in managing the Pantex Plant in Texas. In 2024, a joint venture featuring Fluor secured the management and operations contract for this critical government facility, which oversees the assembly and disassembly of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile.

The full contract value reaches $30 billion when all option periods are exercised over the 20-year term. While Fluor maintains a non-controlling interest reported as an equity-method investment (meaning the contribution flows through the income statement differently than consolidated revenue), management has explicitly identified this as potentially the company’s most significant recurring revenue driver. High-margin government contracts with multi-decade durations provide precisely the kind of predictable cash flow that supports both dividends and share buybacks.

Strategic Shift to Reimbursable Contracts Reduces Risk Exposure

One critical element distinguishing Fluor’s risk profile from pure-play nuclear manufacturers centers on contract structure evolution. The construction industry traditionally featured fixed-price contracts, where builders bore the risk of cost overruns—whether from material price spikes, labor inefficiencies, or project delays. These dynamics decimated margins during inflationary periods.

Recognizing this vulnerability, Fluor has strategically reoriented its contract portfolio. As of late 2025, reimbursable contracts—arrangements where clients pay actual incurred costs plus a management fee—comprised 82% of the company’s total backlog. This structural shift represents a substantial de-risking mechanism. When clients shoulder cost inflation, supply-chain disruptions, and commodity price movements, Fluor’s earnings stability improves markedly. For investors wary of construction companies’ vulnerability to economic cycles, this contractual evolution provides meaningful reassurance.

A Lower-Volatility Alternative to Direct Nuclear Investment

The nuclear stocks category encompasses wildly different risk profiles. Uranium miners experience extreme volatility tied to commodity prices. Emerging reactor companies like NuScale burn cash during development phases, with profitability remaining speculative. Even established nuclear utilities face regulatory uncertainty and political headwinds.

Fluor occupies a different category altogether. The company doesn’t produce uranium, build reactors, or generate electricity. Instead, Fluor builds the infrastructure that enables these activities—and collects cash regardless of uranium spot prices or reactor commercialization timelines. This structural positioning provides investors a stable entry point into nuclear stocks exposure without the accompanying commodity market volatility.

The company’s willingness to deploy $1.3 billion toward self-directed share repurchases further signals management confidence in Fluor’s undervaluation. Capital allocation toward buybacks rather than acquisition spending suggests the company expects organic growth sufficient to drive per-share value appreciation.

The Investment Case for 2026

For investors convinced that nuclear energy represents a cornerstone of the global energy transition but hesitant to bet directly on uranium prices or reactor manufacturer execution risk, Fluor presents a materially different opportunity. The company participates in the nuclear energy buildout through infrastructure construction and operations—activities that generate consistent revenue whether uranium trades at $40 or $120 per pound.

The combination of early NuScale positioning, the $30 billion Pantex contract foundation, and the ongoing portfolio shift toward inflation-protected reimbursable contracts establishes Fluor as a compelling nuclear stocks candidate. As 2026 progresses and project announcements accelerate across the SMR sector, investors may discover that this overlooked infrastructure player delivered more substantial returns than the more visible reactor designers themselves.