GE Swings To Profit And Beats Expectations, While Revenue Slips

General Electric Co.'s stock was little changed in premarket trade Friday, after the industrial giant swung to a first-quarter profit and reported revenue that beat expectations. Net earnings were $619 million, or 7 cents a share, compared with a loss of $61 million, or a penny a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to 21 cents, beating the FactSet consensus of 17 cents. Revenue slipped 1% to $27.66 billion from $27.85 billion, but was above the FactSet consensus of $26.37 billion, as GE's power, renewable energy, oil-and-gas, aviation, health-care and transportation businesses beat expectations, while energy connections missed. The company said it expects cash flows to improve throughout the year, and affirmed its industrial operating and verticals EPS outlook for 2017. The stock has lost 4.2% year to date through Thursday, while the SPDR Industrial Select Sector ETF has tacked on 5% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained 4.1%.