BWX Technologies Inc (BWXT) stock is set to open sharply lower, plunging 6.64% in pre-market trading on Tuesday, following a 6.83% drop in the previous session. This decline comes despite the company reporting better-than-expected third-quarter earnings, highlighting investors' concerns about the nuclear components and fuel supplier's future growth prospects.

For the third quarter of 2025, BWX Technologies posted adjusted earnings per share of $1.00, surpassing analysts' estimates of $0.86. Revenues also impressed, coming in at $866.3 million, up 29% year-over-year. However, these strong results were overshadowed by other factors that worried investors, particularly the company's outlook for 2026.

The main concerns driving the stock's decline include the company's record backlog of $7.4 billion, which, while indicating strong future demand, raised questions about BWXT's ability to convert this backlog into near-term revenue growth. Additionally, the preliminary 2026 outlook provided by the company, projecting low-double-digit to low-teen adjusted EBITDA growth and high-single-digit to low-double-digit non-GAAP EPS growth, appears to have fallen short of some investors' more optimistic expectations. This outlook, combined with uncertainties about executing on the expanding backlog, seems to be outweighing the positive aspects of the Q3 results in investors' minds.