5H·

Attractive opportunity in the defense sector?

Good morning everyone,

Yesterday, while doing some research, I became aware of a stock report that $BWXT (-0,6 %) has illuminated intensively. I found the statements interesting and also think it has long-term potential. I haven't noticed it here yet, as it is a bit outside the well-known defense hype stocks.

But perhaps one or two people have already invested.

Here are a few excerpts from the report.

BWX: Extreme power for AI, Mars + Navy

Highly explosive statements by Putin's deputy Medvedev on Telegram.

dew on Telegram. He referred to Trump on the

"the dangerousness of the Dead Hand - a semi-automatic

nuclear second-strike system, which in the event of a first strike against Moscow would automatically (even in the event of the death of

a nuclear retaliatory strike (even if President Putin dies).

could be triggered. Trump reacted by repositioning submarines

of submarines that are nuclear-powered and operate far away from the

USA could operate in the Russian area. And this is where

BWX comes into play. The US technology company was

founded back in 1867 and has become a quasi-monopolist

for special nuclear propulsion systems for the US military. BWX supplies the nuclear propulsion systems

for the Virginia-class submarines and the Columbia-class

submarines and the propulsion for Gerald R. Ford class aircraft carriers.

R. Ford class aircraft carriers. The Navy awarded BWX contracts worth

contracts worth 2.1 billion dollars to supply new, critical components for

components for Columbia- and Virginia-class submarines and

class submarines and Ford-class aircraft carriers.

carriers. And BWX followed up on July 17, 2025: The US

Navy ordered a further 2.6 billion dollars

components for the Virginia class (nuclear-powered fighter

submarines), the Columbia class (new submarines with ballistic missiles) and for the Ford class.

missiles) and for the Ford class.

The major order extends over a period of

six to eight years.

At the same time, BWX succeeds in utilizing the advantages of CO2-neutral

nuclear power more and more for civilian purposes.

In nuclear medicine, BWX Technologies develops radiopharmaceuticals for therapeutic and diagnostic purposes.

purposes. BWX recently proudly announced: "We have strengthened our

position in the field of Actinium-225 - a therapeutic

a therapeutic isotope with promising applications in cancer

applications in cancer treatment." In the new

BWX investor presentation mentions 90 radiopharmaceuticals in the

ticals in the pipeline. Already at universities

US talents can already work on BWX research reactors on

working on new applications for the future.

New and smart: small SMR reactors

The ramp-up of so-called small modular reactors

Modular Reactors (SMR). Nvidia boss Jensen Huang recently said that

recently said that the advantage of the USA is that the government has

understood the importance of providing more power for the

for the AI revolution. Energy is the bottleneck; the

bottleneck; AI data center capacity is expected to more than double by

more than double by 2030. That is why 38

percent of operators (previously 13 percent) want to partly

modern power generation themselves. Internet giant

Meta is planning several such mini-reactors from 2030 for its

its AI expansion plans. Meta has also committed itself to climate

energy from conventional nuclear power from 2027

for which BWX also provides services.

In addition to Meta, Amazon and Google signed a

and Google signed an appeal in March and "agree that

nuclear energy capacity should at least triple by 2050 to

at least threefold by 2050 to ensure greater energy security and

resilience and a continuous, stable and clean energy

clean energy supply." BWX has therefore

a contract to manufacture the reactor pressure vessel

for the BWRX-300 small modular reactor (SMR) from GE Hi

tachi Nuclear Energy - the first of its kind in the

of its kind in the Western Hemisphere. Thanks to a design

simplification, this type of SMR is expected to be up to 60 percent

cheaper than previous SMRs and will be in operation in Canada from 2030.

go into operation in Canada as early as 2030. There is also interest in Poland, Hungary, Sweden

and Estonia are also interested in this addition

to solar and wind power. Microreactors could in future

the basis for AI power plants and thus the development of new

the development of new medicines, robots and large language

models. The SMR market potential by 2040 is estimated at

is estimated at 300 billion dollars according to the World Economic Forum.

In addition to the civilian perspective, BWX is addressing the opportunities in the

defense sector. News from July 24: The BWX Innova-

tion Campus in Virginia begins construction of the reactor

core for the Pele microreactor. Pele is a demonstration

microreactor with 1.5 megawatts of electrical power

power, which is being developed for the US Department of Defense

Department of Defense and is due to be in operation from 2028. The advantage:

When US soldiers or drones and autonomous battalion vehicles operate

vehicles in the desert, for example, without a connection to the

grid, the gas-cooled reactor can supply electricity for up to

supply electricity for up to three years. There should be little danger to the environment

exist: The reactor is operated with TRISO fuel.

with HALEU (High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium),

which can withstand even extreme temperatures and poses

"very low environmental risk". BWT

President Kate Kelly: "This is a significant milestone

milestone and a breakthrough in safe and reliable nuclear energy

nuclear energy technology - with potential far beyond the

far beyond the military sector." Backing is given:

In May 2025, Trump ordered the deployment of advanced nuclear

nuclear technologies for national security. In addition to

civilian applications on Earth, BWX assistance can also be

speculated for Mars missions. BWX has experience

experience - even if not every research project becomes reality.

become reality. In 2023, for example, BWX was awarded the contract by NASA,

NASA to work with Lockheed Martin on a nuclear-powered rocket

which was to be launched from 2027. The long-term goal is

Journeys to Mars. This particular project is on ice - but

but nuclear power for energy in space remains conceivable thanks to progress

conceivable thanks to advances made by Pele. BWX currently has its hands full

to meet the demand for modernization and upgrades on Earth.

Earth. 8,700 BWX employees are supplying

ammunition for US tanks and help to professionally dismantle old nuclear

nuclear power plants professionally. With a

stock market value of 14 billion dollars, the order backlog is

order backlog is a high 4.8 billion dollars. As aircraft carriers

and submarines are expensive and complex, costing tens of billions of

and complex, the US government has long-term plans with suppliers

suppliers such as BWX for the long term - BWX speaks of a visibi-

of 30 years for major US naval projects - which explains the

explains the increased P/E valuation (40). Chart and SMR

prospects intact and exciting Mars fantasy.

What do you think? Is $BWXT (-0,6 %) an interesting investment opportunity?

19 Commentaires

Wolf@Eurosammler

Wishful thinking and reality ;-). SMRs would be operational from 2040 at the earliest, with extremely high development costs until then and much higher ongoing operating costs than existing nuclear power plants.
Here is a brief summary:

The Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management (BASE) presented a comprehensive report on March 10, 2021,[47] which looks at 136 different historical and current reactors and SMR concepts, 31 of which are particularly detailed. The report prepared by the Öko-Institut on behalf of the BASE provides an assessment of possible areas of application, the final storage issue, safety issues and the risk of proliferation[48][49].
The findings of the report include the following:
In order to generate the same electrical power worldwide as with conventional nuclear power plants, the construction of many thousands to ten thousand SMR plants would be necessary.
Compared to nuclear power plants with a large output, individual SMRs could potentially achieve safety advantages, as they have a lower radioactive inventory per reactor. However, the high number of reactors required for the same production volume of electrical power increases the overall risk many times over.
Contrary to what is sometimes stated by manufacturers, it must be assumed that in the event of a serious accident, the radioactive contamination would extend well beyond the plant site.
Due to the low electrical output, the construction costs for SMRs are relatively higher than for large nuclear power plants. A production cost calculation, taking into account economies of scale, mass and learning effects from the nuclear industry, suggests that an average of 3,000 SMRs would have to be produced before it would be worthwhile entering into SMR production.
A return to nuclear energy would in turn entail long operating, safety and accident risks. Extensive interim storage and fuel transportation would still be necessary. A final storage facility would also still be required in any case.
The use of existing uranium reserves through partitioning and transmutation (P&T) concepts is only applicable for spent fuel rods. However, 40 percent of these have already been reprocessed in Germany. The resulting vitrified waste is not accessible for P&T processes.
Although the quantity of certain transuranic elements such as plutonium could be reduced, the quantity of waste for other long-lived radioactive fission products would increase, in some cases by up to 75 percent (caesium-135) compared to the quantity to be stored without P&T.
Finally, there would still be a risk that the plutonium that would have to be separated in the P&T process would be more easily accessible for weapons production.
The critical overall assessment states that none of the technologies under discussion are currently or foreseeably available on the market. At the same time, they are advertised with promises similar to those made for reactors in the 1950s and 1960s[50].
University of Pennsylvania (2022)
Edit
According to a study published in PNAS, Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) generate up to 2 to 30 times more radioactive waste per unit of energy produced than conventional nuclear reactors. In addition, the waste from SMRs is considerably more radioactive, which makes long-term storage and disposal even more difficult. These findings raise questions about the environmental compatibility and safety of SMRs, particularly in comparison with existing large reactors, which already pose challenges in terms of waste management.

Look up in the sky, the biggest power plant of all time is just appearing ;-).

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Chris@Multibagger

@Eurosammler but this refers to Germany, which is slowly becoming a developing country in terms of technical progress, where nuclear energy has no chance anyway for ideological reasons. In other countries, there are vast quantities of spent fuel rods that have not yet been reprocessed.
The little bit of sun we have will never be enough to supply data centers with electricity in the age of AI.
I can't say whether it will be SMRs or other mini power plants. But it won't be solar.

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Wolf@Eurosammler

@Multibagger The combination of wind power, solar energy and, above all, the further development of storage modules in conjunction with power lines will do the trick. In two years at the latest, e-cars, for example, will have ranges of 1,000 km with short charging times, even e-trucks are on the advance, see Mercedes eActros 600, many haulage companies are already switching to e and completely replacing their fleet (consumption equivalent to approx. 10 l diesel/100km, a "normal" diesel consumes approx. 40 l).
E-development is making quantum leaps in Germany right now, we should talk and compare again in two years' time.
I see huge investment potential here, we should not repeat several mistakes of the past. Take Altmaier's solar energy in the 90s (we were the world market leader), or Nokia: iPhone/smartphone is a toy (just over 10 years ago!), or computers: "nobody needs a computer".
If the money that is literally being burnt on nuclear energy (I'll leave out the environmental hazards and storage for now) is invested in the further development of already highly efficient renewable energies and storage, we will be giant steps ahead in no time. And not just in 20 years' time, when the first SMR might go into operation.

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Wolf@Eurosammler

Incidentally, it is not ideological reasons that speak against nuclear power (in whatever form), they are scientifically proven facts!
Nuclear power has helped us to move away from coal (in the first place) and also to reduce oil and gas consumption.
For a transitional period, highly efficient gas-fired power plants can now close and supplement the last gaps in the energy supply for industrial needs. We no longer need nuclear power in Germany, not even from abroad.

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Chris@Multibagger

@Eurosammler But Germany is not the world. And almost all major industrialized nations rely on nuclear energy. Germany is standing in its own way with its bureaucracy. Here, anyone can delay a construction project with lawsuits. Power lines have to be laid underground, which is very expensive and time-consuming, and if a bird species nests in the area, the breeding season has to be waited for. Battery charging of 1000 im is already available, as well as fast charging in 5-10 minutes. However, $1211, $3750 and $1810 are also far ahead in this respect. Many people always complain about China, but they don't put a spoke in the wheel of innovation. (I'll leave out the negative consequences for now)
That's why they will always be ahead of Europe. If Europe were to join forces as one, they could overtake everyone else. But that won't happen.

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Wolf@Eurosammler

Incidentally, it was not the Greens who abolished nuclear power in Germany. It was the coalition of CDU and FDP that took this decision in 2011. In charge at the time: a state premier from Bavaria ;-).

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Chris@Multibagger

@Eurosammler I know that, it was a knee-jerk reaction after Fukushima that is costing us billions today.

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Wolf@Eurosammler

From the perspective of a small shareholder and investor: I see huge monetary potential in the further development of renewable energies and that with a very short-term investment horizon.

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Chris@Multibagger

@Eurosammler That may be the case for Germany, but the largest economies such as the USA are currently turning off the tap on renewables. And that won't change any time soon.

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Wolf@Eurosammler

@Multibagger However, as the third largest industrialized nation, Germany contributes significantly to the increase in CO2.

In absolute terms, 2% is enormous
- Germany emits around 650-750 million tons of CO₂ per year.
- That's more than 150 of the world's poorest countries combined.
- Even if the percentage share seems small, the absolute effect on the climate is relevant.

Nuclear power plants in other European countries are planned or under construction, but they are not being built any further (also due to errors), but primarily not implemented because the costs have skyrocketed.
In Germany, too, no (!) operator is prepared to build new nuclear power plants or reactivate existing ones (which would be even more difficult).
You are right that the bureaucracy in Germany is paralyzing, including the length of procedures, and there is an urgent need for action.

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Wolf@Eurosammler

@Multibagger Have you considered the billions for storage and decommissioning (limited lifetimes)?
How high were the costs due to Fukushima?

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Voir toutes les 6 autres réponses

EugeneKrabs@Danicx13

I also find Lockheed interesting at the moment. By far the most favorably valued of the many large ones

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-@0000

Definitely exciting. Thank you very much, I'll keep that in mind. Going in with a sum that doesn't hurt and seeing what happens over the years is certainly not wrong.

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