SMR - collapse of market value

Posted: 20th August 2026

Short sellers have reaped large profits from betting against small modular nuclear reactor companies, as the collapse of the “hype cycle” that had sent their share prices soaring wipes billions off their market value.
Funds made an estimated $2.1bn shorting three stocks — US-listed NuScale Power, Nano Nuclear and Sam Altman-backed Oklo — over the past year, according to data provider S3 Partners. The three companies, which are lossmaking and have little or no revenue, surged last year as investors raced to capitalise on growing interest in nuclear energy among AI hyperscalers looking for new sources of power. Regulatory changes and funding announcements from the Trump administration also helped the sector.
But a total of $30.3bn has been wiped off their collective market value since their peak in October last year amid growing concerns over the lack of immediate revenue and the long build-out timelines for the technology.
“The stocks were overinflated in price, based on speculation,” said Adam Stein, director of nuclear energy innovation at the Breakthrough Institute, a climate and energy think-tank. The sector went through a “textbook hype cycle” last year, he added. “[It is] very typical of a company that is in this early pre-consistent revenue phase.”

FT 18th Aug 2026

https://www.ft.com/content/a2f0e0f8-9350-4124-af77-62219e77e777