Atkore entered this quarter with a reputation as a solid electrical infrastructure supplier but was dealing with fresh losses. The stock had already been on a strong run, yet the market’s reaction to Q3 was explosive. Shares jumped about 28% to roughly US$93.55 in regular trading after the release. The headline is not spectacular profit growth; it is that revenue reached about US$794.8m and earnings swung from a heavy recent loss to a small profit of roughly US$0.7m. For a company still unprofitable over the past year, that shift is what grabbed traders’ attention.

Impressed by Atkore’s rapid swing back to profit but still uneasy about its recent losses and volatility in earnings quality? Compare this story with list of solid…