Exelon Corporation (NYSE:EXC) reported its second-quarter earnings results yesterday before the bell, and overall, they were solid. Exelon Corporation (NYSE:EXC) did miss EPS by $0.01, reporting a profit of $0.53, but handily topped revenue projections of $5.76 billion with $6.14 billion in revenue. Furthermore, Exelon Corporation (NYSE:EXC) reaffirmed its full-year EPS forecast of $2.35-$2.65, which is right in line with the Street’s current expectation of $2.48 in EPS. Perhaps some of the backlash can be traced to Exelon Corporation (NYSE:EXC)’s management sticking with its large nuclear portfolio despite its high cost in recent quarters. As for me, I see Exelon Corporation (NYSE:EXC) reducing costs as needed to make ends meet, and I foresee the U.S. government stepping in with subsidies in the not-so-distant future to make nuclear a viable option for fueling America, once again.
To end on good news, office-supply superstore Staples, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPLS) was upgraded on Wednesday by research firm Zacks to strong buy. The reasoning behind the upgrade is Staples, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPLS)’ focus on improving its direct-to-consumer operations, its expanded product offerings, and streamlined cost structure. I’ve been saying, since the Office Depot–OfficeMax merger was announced, that Staples, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPLS) is in perfect line to garner market share from its rivals because of store closures and the appearance from consumers of being the strongest of all office-supply chains.
We can do better
Although it was a relatively short week, it was nonetheless a down week for the portfolio, with both my best and worst performers since inception taking a hit. The real trouble has been the persistently uptrending market, which works in the opposite fashion of a deeply discounted contrarian portfolio. We’ve only had one correction since January, and this portfolio rapidly picked up steam during that quick swoon, so I look forward to a moderating market going forward, and the expected rise of this contrarian portfolio.
Check back next week for the latest update on this portfolio and its 10 components.
The article One Person’s Trash Is Another Person’s Treasure Portfolio originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Sean Williams.
Fool contributor Sean Williams owns shares of QLogic, Dell, Skullcandy, and Orange, but has no material interest in any other companies mentioned in this article. You can follow him on CAPS under the screen name TMFUltraLong, track every pick he makes under the screen name TrackUltraLong, and check him out on Twitter, where he goes by the handle @TMFUltraLong.The Motley Fool owns shares of Dendreon, Skullcandy, and Staples, and recommends Exelon and Orange.
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