Fluor: The Overlooked Play in the 2026 Nuclear Energy Buildout

The nuclear energy sector is experiencing unprecedented momentum heading into 2026, yet many investors remain largely unaware of one of the sector’s most critical builders. Fluor Corporation (NYSE: FLR), a global engineering and construction powerhouse, stands as an overlooked yet essential player in the infrastructure buildout that will define the nuclear renaissance over the next decade.

While most investors focus on uranium miners or emerging small modular reactor (SMR) designers, they’re missing a fundamental reality: someone has to actually construct all this infrastructure. Fluor doesn’t generate hype like SMR startups or volatile commodity plays, which is precisely why it remains overlooked by mainstream market participants.

Why Fluor Remains Overlooked Despite Its Nuclear Position

Fluor’s business model is straightforward but unglamorous. The company designs, builds, and manages large-scale industrial and energy projects across the globe. It constructs factories, mines, power plants, and data centers for clients worldwide. But there’s a deeper story beneath this conventional engineering-services description.

The company’s exposure to nuclear energy positions it at the epicenter of a profound industry shift. Unlike uranium stocks that fluctuate wildly with commodity prices or SMR companies facing regulatory uncertainty, Fluor benefits from stable, predictable contract work tied directly to nuclear infrastructure expansion. This distinction makes it a fundamentally different—and far less volatile—way to participate in nuclear sector growth.

Most investors don’t recognize Fluor’s strategic importance because the company doesn’t generate the excitement of new technologies or disruptive breakthroughs. It simply builds things that others envision. Yet this unsexy reality is precisely what makes Fluor valuable in 2026.

Strategic Partnership: Fluor and NuScale’s Growth Trajectory

Fluor’s nuclear credentials run deep. The company was an early major investor in NuScale Power, the only U.S. company to receive certified small modular reactor design approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Beyond its investment stake, Fluor serves as a key contractor for NuScale’s commercial projects.

Most notably, Fluor is instrumental in constructing NuScale’s RoPower nuclear plant in Romania, which will deploy NuScale’s cutting-edge small modular reactor technology. This project represents a real-world, hard infrastructure commitment to the nuclear buildout narrative.

The company previously held a significant equity position in NuScale but recognized the opportune moment to monetize gains. Fluor sold a portion of its stake in October 2024 following NuScale’s substantial valuation increase and plans to exit its remaining position entirely by the second quarter of 2026. Rather than holding volatile equity stakes, management is directing these proceeds toward repurchasing $1.3 billion of Fluor’s own stock, signaling confidence that the company itself remains undervalued despite its nuclear upside.

The $30 Billion Government Contract as a Growth Engine

Beyond its NuScale involvement, Fluor secured a transformational contract opportunity in 2024 that could prove to be the most consequential element of its nuclear strategy. A joint venture involving Fluor was awarded the management and operations contract for the Pantex Plant—the U.S. government facility responsible for nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly located in Texas.

This contract represents an estimated $30 billion in potential revenue for the joint venture over its 20-year operational lifespan, assuming all contract options are exercised. Due to Fluor’s non-controlling interest structure, this equity-method investment doesn’t appear in the company’s consolidated backlog. However, management has publicly highlighted it as a potentially enormous, recurring, high-margin recurring revenue stream capable of driving substantial long-term growth.

This is precisely the type of overlooked catalyst that most equity analysts miss when evaluating Fluor’s growth prospects. Government contracts of this scale, with guaranteed funding and multi-decade lifespans, represent the bedrock of durable corporate value creation.

Understanding the Risks Before You Invest

Like any construction and engineering firm, Fluor faces tangible risks worth acknowledging. The company operates heavily in cyclical sectors including energy and mining. An economic slowdown would likely trigger project delays, which would inevitably pressure earnings and reduce backlog conversion.

Additionally, fixed-price contracts present inherent margin risk. When Fluor commits to fixed prices, it absorbs the financial impact of unforeseen cost increases, material price inflation, or schedule delays—scenarios that can substantially reduce project profitability.

To mitigate these structural vulnerabilities, Fluor has strategically shifted its contract portfolio mix away from fixed-price arrangements and toward reimbursable agreements. Under reimbursable contract terms, clients pay actual project costs plus a management fee, transferring inflation and cost volatility risk back to the client. As of late 2025, approximately 82% of Fluor’s backlog consisted of reimbursable contracts—a protective positioning that significantly reduces earnings downside risk during inflationary periods.

The Case for This Overlooked Constructor

Fluor represents a rare opportunity to gain exposure to the nuclear energy buildout without the volatility inherent in uranium stocks or the regulatory risk associated with pre-commercial reactor companies. The company provides foundational infrastructure development for the very projects that SMR companies are designed to power.

If you’re constructive on nuclear energy’s role in global power generation but seek a more stable, less speculative entry point, Fluor warrants serious consideration. The company’s early NuScale investment, massive government contract, strategic shift toward protected contract structures, and undervalued equity all converge to create a compelling case for 2026.

In the nuclear energy narrative, Fluor remains the overlooked contractor quietly building the future—and that positioning may prove to be exactly where patient capital should be allocated.