Jim Cramer cautions against speculating on nuclear power and quantum computing

CNBC's Jim Cramer on Thursday warned investors about speculating too heavily in sectors such as nuclear power and quantum computing, saying it may be a long time before either field yields substantial returns.
"Both have promise, someday, but that day is not, just not near enough to justify the current valuations for these stocks," he said.

CNBC's Jim Cramer on Thursday warned investors about speculating too heavily in sectors such as nuclear power and quantum computing, saying it may be a long time before either field yields substantial returns.

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"This year, I see two themes that I want to caution people about: nuclear power and quantum computing," he said. "Both have promise, someday, but that day is not, just not near enough to justify the current valuations for these stocks."

The beginning of the year is usually filled with optimism, he added, but sometimes it can be excessive. And while investors can speculate, Cramer advised against falling prey to overenthusiasm and getting "trampled by wayward bulls."

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Cramer said he thinks it won't be easy to build nuclear power plants, as they take a long time to construct, even for dominant players such as Vistra and Constellation Energy. He also suggested there is too much enthusiasm about certain smaller companies that offer alternatives to current plants, such as Oklo and Nuscale Power, saying the technology is exciting, but they are years away from meaningful developments. Cramer also noted that GE Vernova CEO Scott Strazik suggested it would take about a decade for nuclear projects to start making money.

While quantum computing is legitimate, Cramer said it will also take a long time to scale, and it's "just a long-term project," pointing to ventures in the field from Alphabet. He said he is concerned about quantum-focused stocks that have run up substantially but are losing money, such as Rigetti Computing, D-Wave Quantum and Quantum Computing.

"Look, I believe in nuclear power, but when GE Vernova, the company that arguably has the most to gain from it, says discouraging things about an uptick in commercial nuclear power coming any time soon, when quantum computing seems very much in its infancy, well," he said. "I fear people will get hurt speculating on even the biggest companies, let alone the smaller ones."