UPS's Stock Slumps After Profit And Sales Miss, And Downbeat Outlook

United Parcel Service Inc.'s stock slumped 3.4% in premarket trade Tuesday, after the package-delivery giant missed fourth-quarter profit and sales expectations and provided a downbeat outlook. The company swung to a net loss of $239 million, or 27 cents a share, in the quarter to Dec. 31, from a profit of $1.33 billion, or $1.48 a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, including a $1.90-per-share mark-to-market pension charge, adjusted earnings per share came to $1.63, below the FactSet consensus of $1.69. Revenue rose 5.5% to $16.93 billion, but missed the FactSet consensus of $17.00 billion, with U.S. domestic package revenue rising 6.3% to $10.91 billion and international package revenue growing 5.0% to $3.34 billion. For 2017, UPS expects adjusted EPS of $5.80 to $6.10, below the FactSet consensus of $6.15. "The investments in ORION and automation provided benefits during the quarter," said CFO Richard Peretz. "However, bottom-line results were challenged by a shift in product mix and the continued softness in industrial production." The stock has run up 26% over the past 12 months through Monday, while the S&P 500 has gained 18%.