General Electric slid to a loss in the fourth quarter as the industrial conglomerate was weighed down by weakness in its energy division and a charge tied to previously reported miscalculations at its insurance subsidiary.

The Boston company lost $9.83 billion, or $1.13 per share, for the three months ended Dec. 31. A year earlier it earned $3.49 billion, or 39 cents per share.

Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, came to 27 cents per share. That's a penny below what analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research were looking for.

General Electric Co. announced this month that it would pay $15 billion to make up for subsidiary North American Life & Health underestimating how much it would cost to pay for the care of people who lived longer than projected. GE said at that time that it would take a $6.2 billion charge in its fourth quarter.

Shares rose 2 percent before the market opened Wednesday.

Revenue fell to $31.4 billion from $33.09 billion, missing Wall Street's estimate of $32.87 billion.

In the power unit, revenue dropped 15 percent as orders declined 25 percent. While the segment dealt with several charges during the quarter, GE said on Wednesday that the division's performance was well below expectations even when stripping out the charges.

GE expects full-year earnings in the range of $1 to $1.07 per share.

As GE continues to deal with difficulties within its business, the company is weighing future changes that could culminate in its breakup. CEO John Flannery has hinted that GE might take the radical step of splitting the main company's three main components — aviation, health care and power — into separate businesses.

GE, founded in 1892, already has shrunk dramatically since it became entangled in the financial crisis a decade ago, and Flannery has vowed to shed $20 billion in assets over the next year or two.

Many investors have been clamoring for GE to take drastic measures as GE stock has lost half its value during the past decade. The Dow Jones industrial average, which consists of GE and 29 other companies, has more than doubled during the same span.

Breaking up a sprawling company like GE would be extremely complicated, and likely take several years to complete. In the past, GE has spun off its stakes in subsidiaries such as Synchrony Bank in stages, a strategy that it might deploy if it pursues a broader breakup.