GE’s Credibility Problem Persists in Culp Era
Larry Culp’s public debut as GE’s CEO wasn’t inspiring.
Still looking for more clarity.
Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg
Larry Culp is General Electric Co.’s first outsider CEO, and he could do more to act like it.
GE didn’t host a conference call Oct. 1 when it announced that Culp, the former CEO of Danaher Corp., would replace John Flannery as head of the company. That made GE’s third-quarter earnings release this week his public debut. It started out fine: GE climbed in pre-market trading as shareholders interpreted Culp’s decision to slash the dividend to a penny as a sign his turnaround efforts won’t be encumbered by deference to the company’s legacy. But things went rapidly downhill once Culp and CFO Jamie Miller started speaking on GE’s earnings call. The stock promptly reversed course and continued to slump the next few days, closing under $10 on Thursday for the first time since 2009.