Peabody Energy Corp (NYSE: BTU) shares plunged 5.15% in pre-market trading on Thursday following the release of its third-quarter earnings report, which revealed a significant miss on earnings expectations. The coal mining company reported a larger-than-anticipated loss, disappointing investors and triggering a sell-off.

The company posted a quarterly loss of $0.58 per share, a stark contrast to the $0.74 earnings per share reported in the same period last year. This result fell far short of analysts' expectations, as the average estimate from FactSet called for a loss of just $0.14 per share. The magnitude of this earnings miss, representing a 442.86% deviation from consensus estimates, appears to be the primary driver behind the stock's sharp decline.

Despite the disappointing bottom line, Peabody's revenue performance was more encouraging. The company reported quarterly sales of $1.012 billion, slightly beating the analyst consensus estimate of $990.94 million. However, this still represented a 6.99% decrease compared to the $1.088 billion in sales from the same quarter last year. The company's adjusted EBITDA for the quarter stood at $99.5 million, down significantly from $224.8 million in the prior-year period. These mixed results, coupled with ongoing challenges in the coal industry, have likely contributed to investor concerns about Peabody's near-term prospects, leading to the pre-market sell-off.