General Electric Co (NYSE: GE)
Shares of General Electric had a rough day on Tuesday after the company said federal regulators were investigating its accounting practices and cut its dividend to just a penny. The conglomerate also reported its fiscal 2018 third quarter financial results for the three months ended September 30.
General Electric also revealed that the Department of Justice was probing its recent accounting practices, alongside an escalating investigation by officials of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
GE stock marked its biggest intraday fall in three years after sinking 10% to $10.03 at 1:48 p.m. in New York. The shares have lost 43% since the beginning of the year through Tuesday, a drop previously witnessed after the 2009 recession.
GE Earnings & Outlook
The company posted a net loss of $22.81 billion, compared with earnings of $1.32 billion, from a year earlier. On a per-share basis, General Electric had a loss of $2.62, down from a profit of $0.15 per share in the comparable period last year.
Earnings, adjusted for special items, were $0.14 per share, missing expectations of $0.20 per share. Net sales came in at $29.57 billion, down nearly 4% from the same period a year ago, but below estimates of $29.77 billion.
The company’s Power segment posted revenues of $5.74 billion, down 33% and below expectations of $6.09 billion. Oil and gas business revenues were $5.67 billion, an increase of 7% year over year, while revenues from its aviation segment came in at $7.48 billion, up 12%.
General Electric CEO Comments
GE Chairman and CEO H. Lawrence Culp Jr. commented, “After my first few weeks on the job, it’s clear to me that GE is a fundamentally strong company with a talented team and great technology. However, our results are far from our full potential. We will heighten our sense of urgency and increase accountability across the organization to deliver better results.”
Lawrence added, “We are on the right path to create a more focused portfolio and strengthen our balance sheet. My priorities in my first 100 days are positioning our businesses to win, starting with Power, and accelerating deleveraging. We are moving with speed to improve our financial position, starting with the actions announced today. I look forward to updating you further on our progress in early 2019.”
General Electric Company Profile
General Electric Co. is a technology and financial services company that develops and manufactures products for the generation, transmission, distribution, control and utilization of electricity.
Its products and services include aircraft engines, power generation, water processing, security technology, medical imaging, business and consumer financing, media content and industrial products.
The company operates through eight segments: Power, Oil & Gas, Aviation, Healthcare, Transportation, Appliances & Lighting and GE Capital. The company was founded by Thomas A. Edison in 1878 and is headquartered in Boston, MA. – CNN Money
