GE’s Latest Results? Weird Quarter, Guys
Plus trade-war concerns, earnings angst and more industrial insights.
On GE earnings day, it’s always something.
Photographer: Goh Seng Chong/Bloomberg
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A General Electric Co. earnings release is never a straightforward event; Wednesday’s felt particularly inconclusive. Turnarounds are prone to fits and starts, and at GE, it’s apt to be a particularly long and difficult road. There was little in the latest quarter’s results to convert doubters of CEO Larry Culp’s recovery efforts into believers, and, similarly, nothing concretely terrible enough to shake supporters out of their faith. On the positive side, there were signs of stabilization in the struggling power division. The unit posted operating profit of $117 million in the quarter, down significantly from a year earlier but hey, it wasn’t a loss. Orders were up 28% on an organic basis in the gas turbine side of the business. Also, GE raised its adjusted industrial cash flow guidance and now sees the potential to actually generate as much as $1 billion for the full year. That compares with a previous call for cash flow to be at best breakeven in 2019.