X-energy stock pops 27% on first day of trading following upsized IPO

Source: TechCrunch

IPO Performance

X‑energy’s stock popped on its debut on the Nasdaq, opening at $30.11 and closing at $29.20 – a 27% gain over the IPO price of $23 per share. The initial share price had already been revised upward from the $16‑$19 target floated during the roadshow. At the close, the company was valued at $11.5 billion.

Industry Context

Five years ago, interest in a nuclear startup would have been surprising. The nuclear sector was plagued by delayed projects and massive cost overruns at recently completed reactors. Two power plants in Georgia—one finished in the late 2010s and another in the early 2020s—cost roughly $30 billion to build.

Early‑2020s nuclear startups were still in their infancy, and at least one frontrunner ran into significant regulatory problems, sparking fears that the industry hadn’t moved past its past challenges.

AI‑Driven Data Center Boom

Much of the current momentum can be traced to the AI‑driven data‑center boom. GPUs require tremendous amounts of electricity, and while solar, wind, batteries, and natural gas are filling the need today, tech companies are looking to diversify. Nuclear power is one of the options being explored, with its compact form factor seen as a potential fit for sprawling data centers.

Nuclear power already supplies about 18 % of U.S. electricity, but reactor costs have risen over recent decades. It remains one of the most reliable yet also one of the most expensive sources of electricity in the United States.

X‑energy’s Technology and Partnerships

X‑energy’s 80‑megawatt reactor design is an order of magnitude smaller than many existing nuclear plants. The company bets that modularity can help bring costs down, and data‑center operators hope a single campus could be powered by a fleet of reactors, providing redundancy and stability.

• Amazon has announced plans to purchase up to 5 gigawatts of capacity from X‑energy over the next decade.
• Dow will receive the startup’s first power plant.

Construction is underway at X‑energy’s fuel facility, though the company has not yet begun building a power plant. Investors remain bullish that X‑energy can help free nuclear power from its decades‑long malaise.

Outlook

If X‑energy’s modular reactors can deliver on cost and reliability promises, they could play a significant role in powering AI‑intensive data centers and broader grid needs, potentially reshaping the nuclear landscape.