Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) shares are trading higher today after the company reported better-than-expected second-quarter EPS results yesterday. The company reported GAAP earnings of $6.06 per share, beating the estimate of $3.07 per share, and quarterly Net Interest Income (NII) of $3.524 billion. RBC Capital Markets analyst Jon G. Arfstrom says the stock’s performance (Sector Perform, with a $140 price target) is likely to be influenced primarily by the pending merger with Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE:COF), with the expectation that the acquisition will eventually be completed. Concurrently, Discover is progressing independently by addressing regulatory and compliance issues, simplifying operations focused on core consumer banking and everyday card products, divesting student lending, and achieving peak credit ...