Huh? JD himself said their sales were horrible just last year because of the economic downturn. I don't think he's trying to hype his sales. It should be obvious that with the Lowes contract and new ETC product, Expo Holdings is ramping up sales, and for the patient, they will see these results in their quaterly reports.
Also, there are solid companies that issue steller earnings reports and even increase dividends in economic downturns. I know they are not the pinky types, but they are out there. Consistently good sales and earnings is not a reason to suspect a company of anything except good management.
That's not the same as a money manager, as I see what you are getting at. Unless they are invested in bonds with consistent returns or can time the market perfectly and go short, they will have bad years along with the market.