Is LEU a Buy? What to Consider in 2026
Short answer
The bull case for Centrus Energy (LEU) rests on HALEU and the DOE expansion award: Centrus runs the only US-licensed HALEU enrichment plant and has delivered HALEU to the Department of Energy, including a 900-kilogram milestone delivery in 2025. Revenue (FY2025) is ~$448.7 million, up ~1.5% year over year; SWU revenue up ~21%. If you believe that thesis holds, the real questions become position sizing and overlap, not timing. The main risk to that view: Centrus is heavily dependent on government funding and contracts: its HALEU program runs on DOE awards and extensions, and a multi-billion-dollar expansion relies on continued federal support and appropriations that can shift with politics. Whether LEU is a buy comes down to whether you believe the thesis. This is informational, not a recommendation, and Walnut is not an investment adviser.
Centrus Energy, headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, supplies nuclear fuel and fuel-cycle services to the commercial power industry. It operates through two segments. The Low-Enriched Uranium (LEU) segment buys separative work units (SWU) and uranium and sells enriched uranium to utilities that run nuclear reactors, a business carried by long-term contracts and a large multi-year order backlog. The Technical Solutions segment houses the company's American Centrifuge work, including its US-government HALEU enrichment contract, contract engineering, and technical services, and is the platform Centrus is using to build new domestic enrichment capacity. Centrus traces its roots to the former US Enrichment Corporation, the government enrichment enterprise that was privatized, and it emerged from a 2014 bankruptcy reorganization refocused on its own centrifuge technology. Its strategic turn came as Washington moved to rebuild a domestic nuclear-fuel supply chain: Congress passed the Prohibiting Russian Uranium Imports Act in 2024, which banned most Russian enriched-uranium imports and unlocked about $2.7 billion in federal funding for US enrichment. Centrus runs the only US-licensed HALEU facility, delivered its first HALEU to the Department of Energy, and in early 2026 was selected for a roughly $900 million DOE task order to add commercial-scale HALEU and expand enrichment at Piketon, Ohio. That Russian-import-ban tailwind plus growing demand for HALEU from advanced-reactor developers is the core of the investment story.
What's the case for buying LEU?
1. HALEU and the DOE expansion award.
Centrus runs the only US-licensed HALEU enrichment plant and has delivered HALEU to the Department of Energy, including a 900-kilogram milestone delivery in 2025. In early 2026 it was selected for a roughly $900 million DOE task order, which could exceed $1 billion with options, to build commercial-scale HALEU and expand enrichment at Piketon, Ohio. The base build-out targets about 12 metric tons of HALEU capacity per year with a first cascade aimed to come online around 2029, positioning Centrus as a domestic supplier for advanced reactors.
2. Russian-import-ban tailwind and reshoring.
The Prohibiting Russian Uranium Imports Act, effective in 2024, banned most Russian enriched-uranium imports, which had supplied around a quarter of US reactor demand, and unlocked about $2.7 billion in federal funding for US enrichment. Russia retaliated with its own export restrictions. As one of the few Western enrichers, Centrus benefits from utilities and the government seeking non-Russian supply, which underpins its LEU contracting and its case for new capacity.
3. Long-term LEU backlog and contracting.
Centrus ended 2025 with a total company backlog of about $3.8 billion extending to 2040, including roughly $2.9 billion in its LEU segment. The company has secured around $2.3 billion in LEU purchase commitments from domestic and export utilities, with a portion under definitive agreements. These multi-year contracts give the LEU business a degree of revenue visibility that helps fund the expansion.
4. Balance sheet and capacity to invest.
Centrus ended 2025 with roughly $2.0 billion in unrestricted cash and reported full-year revenue of about $448.7 million with net income near $77.8 million. It raised more than $1.2 billion in private capital through convertible-note transactions in late 2024 and 2025 to fund growth, and has described plans for a multi-billion-dollar enrichment expansion. That cash cushion gives it room to scale, though large capital projects also carry execution and dilution risk.
What are the risks to LEU?
Centrus is heavily dependent on government funding and contracts: its HALEU program runs on DOE awards and extensions, and a multi-billion-dollar expansion relies on continued federal support and appropriations that can shift with politics. Customer concentration is high, with a limited set of utilities and the US government driving revenue, so the loss or delay of a single contract can swing results. The business is exposed to enrichment (SWU) and uranium price cycles, which are volatile and can compress margins. Scaling up centrifuge cascades is capital-intensive and technically demanding, raising execution and timeline risk, and the company faces competition from larger global enrichers and from other US funding recipients. The stock has run up sharply and trades at a high valuation, leaving it sensitive to any disappointment.
How is LEU valued? (as of FY2025 results and latest quarter)
- Revenue (FY2025): ~$448.7 million, up ~1.5% year over year; SWU revenue up ~21%
- Net income (FY2025): ~$77.8 million
- Backlog: ~$3.8 billion total (to 2040), including ~$2.9 billion in the LEU segment
- Cash: ~$2.0 billion in unrestricted cash at year-end 2025
- Market cap: ~$3 billion in 2026, highly volatile
- P/E ratio: Elevated, roughly in the mid-50s on trailing earnings, well above its long-run average
A nuclear-fuel company like Centrus is read differently from a typical industrial: the multi-year backlog and contract structure matter more than any single quarter, because LEU revenue is lumpy and recognized as deliveries occur, so results can swing quarter to quarter. Much of the stock's value reflects future capacity and policy leverage, especially the DOE HALEU awards and the Russian-import-ban tailwind, rather than current profits, which is why the P/E sits far above its historical average. All figures are approximate as of the dates noted and refresh each quarter; verify against Centrus's investor relations page or your broker.
How do you decide if LEU is a buy?
Rather than asking whether LEU is a buy in the abstract, it tends to help to answer four questions:
- Thesis: do you believe the case above, and is it still true today?
- Time horizon: a single stock can be volatile, so a longer horizon absorbs more of the swings.
- Position sizing: a thesis can be right and the sizing still wrong; decide how much of your portfolio one name should be.
- Overlap: check whether you already hold LEU indirectly through an index or sector ETF before adding more.
For the full picture, see the LEU stock guide (what the company does, the ETFs that hold it, similar stocks, and the themes it fits). In Walnut you can ask its AI about LEU against your real portfolio and see your actual exposure before deciding.
The bottom line on LEU
The bottom line: Centrus Energy's story right now is HALEU and the DOE expansion award, with revenue (fy2025) at ~$448.7 million, up ~1.5% year over year; SWU revenue up ~21%. If you believe that narrative continues, the call is about sizing LEU sensibly and checking overlap with what you own; if you doubt it (the risk: centrus is heavily dependent on government funding and contracts: its HALEU program runs on DOE awards and extensions, and a multi-billion-dollar expansion relies on continued federal support and appropriations that can shift with politics.), it is not for you. Decide from the thesis, not the ticker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.
Build a basket around LEU with Walnut
Use Centrus Energy as one constituent in a thematic basket Walnut's AI helps you assemble. Describe a thesis you believe in, the AI proposes the holdings and weights, and you approve before any broker order.
FAQ
Is LEU a good stock to buy right now?
+
The case for Centrus Energy right now is HALEU and the DOE expansion award, with revenue (fy2025) at ~$448.7 million, up ~1.5% year over year; SWU revenue up ~21%. If you believe that thesis holds, LEU is a way to own it and the real questions are sizing and overlap, not timing; the main risk to that view is centrus is heavily dependent on government funding and contracts: its HALEU program runs on DOE awards and extensions, and a multi-billion-dollar expansion relies on continued federal support and appropriations that can shift with politics. So it comes down to whether you believe the thesis. Walnut is not an investment adviser and this is not a recommendation.
What does Centrus Energy do?
+
US nuclear-fuel company that sells enriched uranium to utilities and runs the only US-licensed HALEU enrichment plant, riding the reshoring of enrichment and the ban on Russian uranium imports.
What are the main risks of LEU?
+
Centrus is heavily dependent on government funding and contracts: its HALEU program runs on DOE awards and extensions, and a multi-billion-dollar expansion relies on continued federal support and appropriations that can shift with politics. Customer concentration is high, with a limited set of utilities and the US government driving revenue, so the loss or delay of a single contract can swing results. The business is exposed to enrichment (SWU) and uranium price cycles, which are volatile and can compress margins. Scaling up centrifuge cascades is capital-intensive and technically demanding, raising execution and timeline risk, and the company faces competition from larger global enrichers and from other US funding recipients. The stock has run up sharply and trades at a high valuation, leaving it sensitive to any disappointment.
What does Centrus Energy do?
+
Centrus Energy supplies nuclear fuel and fuel-cycle services. Its Low-Enriched Uranium segment sells enriched uranium to utilities that run nuclear reactors under long-term contracts, and its Technical Solutions segment houses its American Centrifuge work, including a US-government HALEU enrichment contract and engineering services. Centrus runs the only US-licensed HALEU enrichment facility, in Piketon, Ohio, producing the high-assay fuel that advanced reactors need.
What is LEU's ticker symbol and where is it listed?
+
The company trades as LEU on the NYSE American exchange, officially Centrus Energy Corp., headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. The ticker comes from low-enriched uranium, its core product. It is available at every major US brokerage with commission-free trading, and many brokers also offer fractional shares so you can invest a fixed dollar amount.
Does LEU pay a dividend?
+
No. Centrus Energy does not currently pay a dividend on its common stock, so its yield is 0%. The company is reinvesting in expanding US enrichment capacity rather than returning cash to shareholders, so any return would come from share-price changes rather than dividend income. The figure is current as of the dates noted; verify against Centrus's investor relations page.
What is HALEU and why does it matter?
+
HALEU stands for high-assay low-enriched uranium, fuel enriched to between 5% and 20% uranium-235, higher than the roughly 5% used in today's reactors. Many next-generation advanced and small modular reactors are designed to run on it, but there has been almost no commercial Western supply. Centrus runs the only US-licensed HALEU facility and has delivered HALEU to the Department of Energy, which is central to its growth story.
Walnut is informational and is not an investment adviser. This page is educational and not a recommendation to buy or sell LEU; figures are approximate and dated, and your own situation, time horizon, and risk tolerance should drive any decision. Verify current data before investing.