Weekly Update #19 - Week Ending 06/14/26
$OCC, $TPC, $DRX.TO, $HAI.TO, $PPIH & Others
Highlights
OCC (Quarterly Results): Operating leverage finally showed up. EPS turned positive, and backlog is up 82% since October.
TPC (Contracts/Awards): $700M of new backlog in a week. A small data center contract and a larger defense award. Could re-rate like BDT.TO.
DRX.TO (Quarterly Results): Record quarter and record $645.8M backlog. Strong industry tailwinds.
The following will cover stocks that are either in our microcap quality indices (MSMqi) or in our research journal (stocks that don’t quite qualify for the MSMqi but might be close).
Studs (Positive News)
1) OCC | Fiber Optic Cable Manufacturer
Quarterly Results
OCC finally put up the quarter the data-center thesis needed. Net sales rose 26.6% YoY to $22.2M (+35.2% sequentially), and EPS increased to $0.12 versus a $(0.09) loss a year ago.
The operating leverage management has promised for years finally showed up. The forward tell is backlog, which now stands at 13.3M, up 27% from January and 82% since October.
Using OCC’s current backlog, we estimate the company can generate around $0.26 in EPS next quarter. If we are correct, this would put the company at a run-rate P/E of around 19.0x. Although the stock is not optically cheap, we think that if OCC’s backlog continues to rise at this rate, the stock could continue to move higher.
Note: Stock is in our Microcap Quality Index
2) TPC | Construction and Infrastructure Contractor
Contracts/Awards
Two awards in one week, both landing in Q2 2026 backlog, and both hitting themes we like:
AI/Data center: Fisk Electric (TPC subsidiary) won a $48M electrical project for an advanced manufacturing and data-center facility in Houston. Although this is a tiny award compared to TPC’s current backlog, we think this strengthens the case for managment announcing a strategy to explore this market before the end of the year. As a reminder, in their latest CC management stated:
“So we're looking at it very closely. And I think not too far down the road, certainly before the year is up, you'll hear more from us as far as maybe new strategy to explore some of that market or at least explore -- we're already doing.”
Defense: A ~$651.8M NAVFAC Pacific task order to harden critical power feeders on Naval Base Guam, run through TPC’s Guam subsidiary Black Construction.
We recently added Bird Construction (BDT.TO) to the Spotlight Index precisely due to its increased exposure to the Data Center & Defense themes. Since then, the stock has quickly re-rated from a forward P/E of around 15.0x to a forward P/E of more than 20.0x. We think that TPC could re-rate similarly.
Note: Stock is in our Microcap Quality Index
3) DRX.TO | Steel Fabrication Services Provider
Contracts/Awards
DRX.TO posted a very strong quarter with revenue up 78.8% YoY to C$99.3M, adjusted EBITDA nearly doubling to $18.5M, and EPS of $0.42 vs $0.30 in the prior year. Additionally, backlog hit a record $645.8M (72% Canadian), including $266.5M from the Groupe LAR acquisition.
Two things make it more than a one-off print: