GE Healthcare (NYSE:GE) shares got a bump today after the company topped the consensus forecast for its fourth-quarter sales and swung to black ink for the period, with its healthcare business posting modest bottom- and top-line gains.
The stock rise came despite a Q4 earnings miss and wider full-year losses for the Boston-based industrial conglomerate. GE reported profits of $574 million, or 7¢ per share, on sales of $33.28 billion for the three months ended Dec. 31, 2018. That compares with losses of -$11.0 billion on a sales gain of 5.3% during Q4 2017. Adjusted to exclude one-time items, earnings per share were 17¢, a full nickel below the consensus on Wall Street, although GE beat the sales mark by $688 million.
