Shares of General Electric Co. GE,
rose 4.8% in premarket trading on Tuesday after the diversified industrial conglomerate reported fourth-quarter profit that missed expectations, but revenue and free cash flow exceeded forecasts. Net income rose to $ 2.44 billion, or $ 2.27 per share, from $ 538 million, or 6 cents a share, a year ago. With the exception of non-recurring items, earnings adjusted per share fell to 8 cents from 20 cents, to miss the FactSet consensus of 9 cents. Revenue fell 16% to $ 21.93 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $ 21.75 billion, as all four business segments exceeded expectations. Free industrial cash flow was $ 4.4 billion, compared to at least $ 2.5 billion in previous guidance. “The fourth quarter marked a strong flow of free cash to a challenging year, reflecting better operating results, as well as strong and improved energy and renewable energy orders,” said CEO Larry Culp. For 2021, GE expects EPS to adjust 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 , anticipate FCF guidance of about $ 1.5 billion to $ 3.5 billion. The stock has risen 48.9% in the last three months, while the S&P 500 SPX,
gained 13.4%.