General Electric shares drop after revenue falls short of expectations

Shares of General Electric (NYSE: GE) edged lower in premarket trading Friday after the company reported quarterly revenue that fell short of expectations.

The premarket share price was about 1.5 percent lower than Thursday's close.

The company's fourth-quarter earnings of 46 cents per share were in line with forecasts, but revenue was $33.08 billion, less than the consensus estimate from Thomson Reuters of $33.63 billion.

Since Donald Trump won the Nov. 8 election, industrial stocks have risen nearly 9 percent on expectations that the president-elect's policies will benefit the sector.

GE said its quarterly profit was helped by strength in its power and renewable energy businesses.

GE Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt said the company will continue to invest in the industrial internet to "lead in productivity and performance" for customers in the new year.

"We executed on our 2016 goals and continued to drive growth across our businesses through the GE Store while investing in additive manufacturing and digital technology," he said in a statement. "We delivered $1.49 of earnings per share this year and 1 percent of organic growth. We reported $32.6 billion of free cash flow and dispositions and returned $30.5 billion to shareowners through dividends and buyback."

GE also reiterated its 2017 operating earnings per share forecast.

It said $40 billion in asset sales were signed in 2016, reaching $197 billion since its exit plan for GE Capital was announced in 2015.

In late October, GE announced it would merge its oil and gas business with Baker Hughes (NYSE: BHI), creating the world's second-largest oilfield services provider, with revenue projected at $34 billion in 2020.

The company's stock is up more than 9 percent this month.

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