Industrial goods manufacturer General Electric Company (GE – Free Report) is aiming to focus on its core industrial operations after completing the GE Capital exit plan. CEO John Flannery plans to script a turnaround in the company, with 2018 being termed as a “reset year”. Flannery intends to focus on just three core segments — power, aviation and health-care equipment — and gradually exit all other businesses to plug the downtrend in share prices. The company is seriously contemplating to spin off its operations to maximize shareholder returns.
The company intends to lay off 12,000 employees across the globe in its GE Power business, as part of its corporate objective to lower operating costs and improve profitability. In addition, GE aims to reduce overhead costs by $2 billion in 2018, majority of which is likely to come from the beleaguered power segment that sells electrical generation equipment. The company further intends to sell assets worth $20 billion to improve its liquidity. At the same time, GE has halved its quarterly dividend to 12 cents per share — the first dividend cut since 2009 at the peak of the recession.
In the last four trailing quarters, GE has reported a negative average earnings surprise of -2.2%, beating estimates twice for as many misses. Earnings estimate revisions have gone downhill in the last couple of months as investors retain a bearish stance about the performance of the company.
General Electric Company Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
General Electric Company Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | General Electric Company Quote
Currently, GE has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell), but that could definitely change following its first-quarter 2018 earnings report, which was just released.
We have highlighted some of the key stats from this just-revealed announcement below:
Earnings: GE operating earnings beat estimates. The Zacks Consensus Estimate called for EPS of 11 cents, and the company reported operating+verticals EPS of 16 cents per share.Revenue: Quarterly revenues trumped estimates. GE posted consolidated revenues of $28,660 million, higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $27,884 million.
