On January 22, 2026, President Trump addressed the World Economic Forum in Davos, positioning small modular reactors (SMRs) as a cornerstone for U.S. manufacturing and AI growth. His declaration that SMRs offer “clean, reliable and powerful” baseload power sent NuScale Power Corp. (SMR) shares up 4.8% in the first hour of trading, and pure-play SMR names collectively outperformed broader energy indices by more than 2 percentage points Wednesday morning. Volume on SMR traded at nearly 33 million shares—30% above its 30-day average—indicating a surge in retail and institutional interest following the speech.

Building on Trump’s advocacy, two executive orders signed this week direct the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to cut SMR design review timelines by 40% and prioritize up to six SMR projects for conditional construction permits by mid-2027. Industry analysts estimate this acceleration could shave 18 months off typical SMR licensing cycles, boosting the likelihood of first-of-a-kind commercial units entering service as early as 2028. The moves also mandate coordination between the Department of Energy and private developers to co-fund demonstration projects, with a combined initial budget of $1.5 billion.

NuScale, whose SMR design became the first to receive full NRC certification in August 2025, is now the focal point of investor attention. Bank-sourced data show NuScale’s market capitalization rose by $200 million over two trading days, and sell-side research notes a consensus gross margin of 65% on initial module production. Management projects a backlog of 12 reactor modules under advanced negotiation, representing potential revenues of over $4 billion through 2030. With first power delivery contracts expected in 2028, NuScale’s unique regulatory status and planned factory output of up to 24 modules per year underpin bullish forecasts by multiple energy strategists.