GE Aerospace Stock Surges Premarket After Upbeat Q4 Profit, $7B Buyback: Retail Sentiment Takes Off

GE Aerospace (GE) shares rose 7.4% in pre-market trade on Thursday, on course to open at an 18-year-high after topping the Wall Street estimate for quarterly profit and launching a fresh share buyback plan.

On an adjusted basis, the company reported earnings of $1.32 per share for the fourth quarter, beating the average analysts’ estimate of $1.04 per share, as per FinChat data.

Its fourth-quarter revenue jumped 14% to $10.81 billion compared to the same period last year. 

The company said that orders at its commercial engines and services unit jumped 50% to $12.95 billion, while equipment revenue grew 38%.

According to a report by McKinsey & Co, due to a delay in the deliveries of new aircraft, the aircraft retirement rate will be 24% lower from 2024 through 2026 compared with the pre-pandemic years of 2010 through 2019.

This has resulted in more maintenance spending on existing aircraft and benefiting companies such as GE Aerospace.

The company said its defense and propulsion technologies orders were up 22% to $2.8 billion during the fourth quarter.

GE Aerospace forecasted adjusted earnings per share in the range of $5.10 and $5.45 for 2025.

It also projected adjusted revenue growth of lower double-digit percentage points for this year.

The company announced plans to raise its dividend by 30% and a new share buyback program worth $7 billion in 2025.

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits jumped to ‘extremely bullish’ (97/100) territory from ‘neutral’(51/100) a day ago, while retail chatter soared to ‘extremely high.'

Users expressed their satisfaction with the earnings, with some setting new price targets.

Over the past year, the stock has gained 81.3%.

Also See: American Airlines Stock Set For Worst Day Since May 2024 After Weaker-Than-Expected Q1 Outlook: Retail Sentiment Sours

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