General Electric's stock drops as revenue falls below expectation, while earnings match

Shares of General Electric Co. slipped 0.6% in premarket trade Friday, after the industrial conglomerate reported a fourth-quarter adjusted profit that matched expectations but revenue that fell short. Earnings fell 45% to $3.49 billion, or 39 cents a share, from $6.28 billion, or 64 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to 46 cents, matching the FactSet consensus. Revenue declined 2% to $33.09 billion from $33.89 billion, missing the FactSet consensus of $33.94 billion. Revenue from GE's power, renewable energy, oil and gas, healthcare and transportation businesses missed expectations, based on the FactSet consensus, while the aviation and energy connections and lighting businesses beat. Orders rose 4%, or 2% organically including Alstom. GE said it returned $30.5 billion to shareholders in 2016, $22 billion through share buybacks. "We will continue to invest in the Industrial Internet to lead in productivity and performance for our customers in 2017," said Jeff Immelt in a statement. The stock has gained 11% year to date through Thursday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has climbed 25%.

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