UPDATE: Goodyear Shares Surge On Upbeat Earnings

Shares of

gained more than 4% in pre-market trading after the company reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings. The Akron, Ohio-based company posted quarterly net income of $2.13 billion, or $7.68 per share up from $228 million or $0.84 per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding certain significant items, Goodyear earned $0.59 per share. Its sales declined to $4.36 billion from $4.79 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.58 per share on revenue of $4.37 billion. North America's sales slipped 1% to $2.1 billion in the quarter, while Europe, Middle East and Africa's sales dropped 20% to $1.3 billion. Latin America's sales fell 12% to $434 million, while Asia Pacific's sales dropped 5% to $511 million. Tire unit volumes came in at 39.5 million for the quarter. During the quarter, Goodyear repurchased 5.7 million shares of its common stock for $150 million. "We delivered record full-year segment operating income, successfully navigating a challenging global economic environment," said Richard J. Kramer, chairman and chief executive officer. Kramer added, "Led by our momentum in North America, we are on target to achieve 2015 segment operating income growth of 10 percent to 15 percent above our record setting $1.7 billion in 2014, despite severe headwinds from the increasing strength of the U.S. dollar." Goodyear shares gained 4.21% to $27.00 in pre-market trading.