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The Portfolio Selector features the Argus Focus List, a group of 30 "best idea" stocks generated and regularly updated by Argus' analysts and investment policy committee. It also includes the director of research’s monthly investment strategy column, stock recommendations and sector picks, economic forecasts, and an asset allocation model. This month, the Focus List additions are DuPont de Nemours Inc (DD); GE Vernova Inc. (GEV); Palantir Technologies Inc (PLTR); Dicks Sporting Goods, Inc. (DKS) and the Focus List deletions are ASML Holding NV (ASML); Linde Plc. (LIN); Oshkosh Corp (OSK); TJX Companies, Inc. (TJX).

The Vickers Top Buyers & Sellers is a daily report that identifies the five companies the largest insider purchase transactions based on the dollar value of the transactions as well as the five companies the largest insider sales transactions based on the dollar value of the transactions.

The Vickers Top Insider Picks is a daily report that utilizes a proprietary algorithm to identify 25 companies with compelling insider purchase histories based on transactions over the past three months.

The 2Q24 EPS season gets under way this week, launched, as usual, by earnings reports from the big banks. In the following week, the floodgates will open, with Consumer, Healthcare, and Industrial companies all releasing results. Information Technology and Energy companies generally report later in the EPS period, and then the Retailers wrap things up, likely in mid-to-late August. Consensus EPS estimates for 2Q24 growth range from mid-single-digits to low-double-digits. This follows 8% growth in 1Q24 EPS and 10% growth in 4Q23, according to Refinitiv. Leading sectors for 2Q24 are expected to be Communication Services (+22% EPS growth year over year), Healthcare (+20%), Information Technology (+17%), and Energy (+13%). On the downside, earnings from the Industrial sector are expected to decline 2%, Real Estate 3%, and Materials 9%. Consumer Discretionary earnings are expected to increase 9%. Revenue is expected to increase 4%, and 5% excluding the Energy sector. For 2024, our full-year S&P 500 earnings estimate is $247, implying high-single-digit growth from 2023 levels. Remember, companies almost always exceed earnings expectations. Last quarter, just over four-fifths of companies exceeded consensus expectations; and the average beat against expectations was above 7%.