Shares of General Electric Co. surged 1.8% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the industrial conglomerate reported a surprise fourth-quarter loss and missed revenue expectations, but beat revenue projections in its key power and oil and gas businesses. The net loss for the quarter was $9.83 billion, or $1.13 a share, compared with a profit of $3.49 billion, or 39 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, the adjusted loss per share was $1.23, compared with the FactSet consensus for earnings per share of 29 cents. Total revenue fell 5% to $31.40 billion, below the FactSet consensus of $33.87 billion. Revenue for the power business fell 15% to $9.42 billion, but beat the FactSet consensus $9.41 billion, while oil and gas revenue growth of 69% to $5.76 billion topped the FactSet consensus of $5.73 billion. Aviation revenue was flat at $7.22 billion, but beat expectations of $7.16 billion, while healthcare revenue rose 6% to $5.40 billion to top expectations of $5.25 billion. “In the fourth quarter, EPS was at the low-end of guidance, excluding insurance-related items, U.S. tax reform, and industrial portfolio actions,” said Chief Executive John Flannery. “Cash performance was above expectations and our visibility and execution on cash is improving.” The stock has tumbled 23% over the past three months, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has rallied 11%.
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