ASX uranium stocks go gangbusters as the world turns to nuclear energy
Australia’s three biggest uranium shares have hit 10-year highs in 2023
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Uranium is set to play a major role in the world’s green energy transition, with many nations proactively developing their nuclear energy capacity to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels for power generation in the future.
Whilst most nations are pursuing renewables and green energy storage systems as their definitive long-term solution for climate change, it is likely not possible to develop enough wind and solar technology and infrastructure quickly enough to replace fossil fuels in time to meet 2050 net-zero emissions targets.
On top of this, volatile oil and gas prices amid supply uncertainty have enhanced the interest in nuclear power. The pandemic and Russia-Ukraine conflict created significant oil supply disruptions, OPEC has recently placed limits on production, and the Israel-Gaza war may make the situation even worse. AMP Chief Economist Shane Oliver says the global oil price could rise to US$150 per barrel – up from the low $80 range today – if Israel and Iran commence a military engagement.
Against this backdrop, nations are rushing to embrace nuclear technology to act, at least, as an initial first step on the road to a green energy future. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), there are approximately 440 reactors in operation across 32 countries today, with 56 new ones under construction. Monash Investors estimates there are another 100 reactors in the advanced planning stages across 17 countries. China alone is expected to build 32 new reactors by the end of the 2020s.
Surging demand for uranium has been met with low existing inventories. This has created a perfect storm for the global uranium price, which is now at a 12-year high of US$73 per pound. The rising uranium price has made it economical for many mining companies to restart dormant mines and develop new ones in the face of new and likely ongoing long-term demand. “We see prices rising year-on-year for the next 10-20 years or till the world finds another source for large scale uninterruptible base load power with a low carbon footprint,” SP Angel mining analyst John Meyer told Reuters recently.
All of this has led to skyrocketing share prices for ASX uranium stocks this year.
In Australia, nuclear energy is banned. The Federal Opposition has been arguing to include nuclear energy in the mix for Australia’s own green energy transition. The Albanese Government disagrees, advocating for continuing renewables development instead. Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen says developing local nuclear energy production is too expensive. He says recent modelling shows it would cost $387 billion to replace Australia’s coal-fired power plants with small modular reactors.
Australia’s 3 largest ASX uranium stocks
The three biggest pure-play uranium shares on the ASX have outperformed the broader market exponentially in 2023. While the S&P/ASX 200 Index has lost 2.5% of its value, Australia’s biggest listed pure-play uranium miners have exploded with share price growth of 40% to 115% between them.
Paladin Energy
Paladin Energy is the biggest pure-play uranium stock listed on the ASX, with a market capitalisation of $2.81 billion. The Paladin Energy share price closed on Monday at 95 cents, up 43% in 2023 so far. The stock reached a decade-high price of $1.15 in September. According to a survey of analysts on CommSec, five out of seven analysts covering Paladin Energy shares rate them a strong buy.
Boss Energy
Boss Energy has a market capitalisation of $1.59 billion. The Boss Energy share price closed on Monday at $4.37, up 115% in 2023. It hit an all-time record price of $4.98 in September. Three out of six analysts covering Boss Energy shares rate them a hold.
Deep Yellow
Deep Yellow has a market capitalisation of $963 million. The Deep Yellow share price closed yesterday at $1.27, up 85% in 2023. The stock cracked a 10-year high of $1.41 per share in October. Three out of three analysts covering Deep Yellow shares rate them a strong buy.
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Meta is betting on a human-first AI future, but growing legal battles and declining public trust are putting Mark Zuckerberg’s vision to the test.
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“Call us optimists. Call us dreamers. Call us whatever the hell you want, but we’re betting on people, and we like those odds. The future is for everyone.”
That ad copy is from the voice-over of a July Meta Platforms META -3.38%.
spot that’s been part of a public-relations blitz to position Meta as the humanist AI company. The message was undercut by the ad’s inclusion of David Bowie’s “Five Years,” a brooding 1972 song about an impending apocalypse. But this week CEO Mark Zuckerberg left no ambiguity, publishing a 6,500-word manifesto—about 10 times the length of this newsletter—with a title that echoed the ad: “The Future is for Everyone.”
That seems to be Meta’s new tagline. In light of sinking public opinion and the company’s thousands of lawsuits from states, school districts, parents, and users, Meta’s public relations have been defensive. This push represents a return to offense, with a chance to distinguish Meta’s approach to AI from other labs like OpenAI, Anthropic, or SpaceX SPCX +9.65%.
“It is surprising that the discourse from many developing AI is so filled with doom,” Zuckerberg wrote. “I do not understand why anyone who believes that AI will eliminate most jobs and much of humanity’s relevance would rush to build that future.”
Zuckerberg frames what sort of future we build with AI as the central issue of our time. “We believe that delivering superintelligence to everyone is the way to answer this question,” he says. “This has the potential to begin a new era of personal empowerment where individuals can use this powerful new capability to reach their full potential, pursue their interests, and improve their lives and the world more than ever before.”
The flood of words belies the situation on the ground in mid-2026. Americans, at least, have a love-hate affair with social media. A November Pew Research Center poll reported that 71% of U.S. adults used Facebook, and 51% used Instagram. Worldwide, 3.6 billion people use at least one Meta app every day.
But in a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted in July and August, 61% of respondents said they wanted more government oversight of social media, and two-thirds supported laws to keep children under 16 years old off the platforms. When it comes to Meta in particular, in the 2026 Axios Harris 100, an annual poll about corporate reputation, Meta placed 96th out of 100. It’s only above two other social media companies, Chinese ultracheap retailer Temu, and Spirit Airlines, a defunct air carrier. Regarding ethics, Meta came in last, and it was only ahead of TikTok in trust.
The steady drip of headlines in the teen social media trials isn’t helping. Last week, Meta lost a judgment in New Mexico state court that raised their liability in that relatively small jurisdiction to nearly $1 billion dollars. On Wednesday, jury selection began for a federal case with four states suing Meta over addictive product design, and false marketing that said its platforms were safe for teenagers. In July, Meta claimed that the states are asking for a total of $1.4 trillion in damages, in addition to design changes in the apps. This is part of a multidistrict litigation, where thousands of federal trials with social media defendants are coordinated in Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers’ district courthouse in Oakland, Calif.
There is a separate such group of thousands of cases in California state court, mostly with individual plaintiffs. The steady drip of bad headlines from the courts will continue unless Meta decides to settle en masse.
Meanwhile, in the second quarter, Meta booked “$2.40 billion of charges related to legal proceedings,” according to its quarterly filing. That may be just the beginning.
Zuckerberg spent 6,500 words getting his utopian message out, but I can sum it up in two: Trust us. The evidence is that Meta has a long way to go to win back that trust.
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