, Columnist
GE’s Dow Eviction Is a Form of Intervention
CEO John Flannery now has a cleaner path to do something radical, including a full-blown breakup.
Last of the Dow originals.
Photographer: Michael Nagle/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
John Flannery has one less reason to keep General Electric Co. together.
The 126-year-old company and last original member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average was dropped from the index on Tuesday and will be replaced with drugstore chain Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. GE’s place on the benchmark index had been an open question for some time now as as a drumbeat of earnings disappointments and poor capital-allocation decisions battered its stock and left it with a cash crunch that’s put its dividend in jeopardy yet again. But even after everything GE has been through, the booting from the benchmark has to sting.