Shares of General Electric Co. GE,
rose 4.8% in premarket trading on Tuesday, after the diversified industrial conglomerate reported fourth-quarter profit that exceeded expectations, but revenues and free cash flow exceeded expectations. Net income rose to $ 2.44 billion, or $ 2.27 a share, from $ 538 million, or 6 cents a share, in the same period last year. Excluding one-off items, adjusted earnings per share fell from 20 cents to 8 cents, to miss the 9 cent FactSet consensus. Revenue fell 16% to $ 21.93 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $ 21.75 billion, as all four business segments exceeded expectations. The industry’s free cash flow was $ 4.4 billion, compared to previous expectations of at least $ 2.5 billion. “The fourth quarter marked a strong free cash flow from a challenging year and reflects the results of better operations and strong and improved orders in Power and Renewable Energy,” said Chief Executive Larry Culp. For 2021, GE expects adjusted earnings per share of 15 cents to 25 cents, below the current FactSet consensus of 37 cents, and an FCF of $ 2.5 billion to $ 4.5 billion, while BofA Securities analyst Andrew Obin FCF guideline of about $ 1.5 billion to $ 3.5 billion. The stock is up 48.9% in the last three months, while the S&P 500 SPX,
has gained 13.4%.