Shares of General Electric Co. GE,
rose 4.8% in premarket trading on Tuesday, after the diversified industrial conglomerate reported fourth-quarter profit that lost expectations, but revenue and free cash flow exceeded forecasts. Net income rose to $ 2.444 billion, or $ 2.27 per share, from $ 538 million, or 6 cents per share, in the previous year. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share fell from 8 cents to 20 cents, to lose the FactSet consensus of 9 cents. Revenue fell 16% to $ 21.93 million, above the $ 21.775 billion FactSet consensus, as all four business segments exceeded expectations. Free industrial cash flow was $ 4.4 billion, compared to previous guidelines of at least $ 2.5 billion. “The fourth quarter marked a strong free cash flow to a challenging year, reflecting the results of better operations as well as strong orders and improvements in energy and renewable energy,” said CEO Larry Culp. By 2021, GE expects a tight EPS of 15 cents to 25 cents, below the current FactSet consensus of 37 cents, and FCF of $ 2.5 billion to $ 4.5 billion, while BofA Securities analyst Andrew Obin predicted an FCF target of between $ 1.5 billion and $ 3.5 billion. Shares have risen 48.9% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 SPX
has gained 13.4%.