Aviation, healthcare, and renewable energy
Reviewed by Thomas J. Catalano
The General Electric Co. (GE) is one of the oldest industrial conglomerates in the U.S. It was founded by Thomas Edison in 1892, under the name Edison General Electric Company. By 2000, it had become the nation’s largest company, with a market capitalization of over $600 billion.
GE has been a leading innovator throughout its history. Starting with Edison’s first commercially-viable incandescent lamp, the company’s earliest products included light bulbs, an electric locomotive, X-ray machines, and an electric stove.
But GE produces more than just electrical machinery, and the company was once a major player in the world of banking, plastics, computers, and even television broadcasting. Today, GE’s holdings span the sectors of renewable energy, aviation, and healthcare. The company has been winding down in recent years through spinoffs and divestments, and recently split into three separate public companies in April 2024.
In the fiscal year that ended Dec. 31, 2023, the company posted net earnings attributable to its common shareholders of $8.8 billion, or $7.98 per share, on revenue of $68 billion. The company’s market cap was $175 billion, as of the close of trading on April 30, 2024.
Below, we look at five of GE’s major business segments from the end of 2023 and how they’ve changed in 2024.
Key Takeaways
- The General Electric Co. (GE) is one of the oldest and largest industrial conglomerates in the U.S. It was founded by Thomas Edison in 1892.
- Originally a manufacturer of electrical equipment, GE later branched out into diverse areas including aviation, computers, plastics, banking, and even television broadcasting.
- GE Research has been responsible for major innovations such as the first American jet engine, the first commercial nuclear powerplant, and the first synthetic diamonds.
- Over the past decades, GE has sold or spun off most of its subsidiaries in order to reduce significant levels of debt.
- In 2024, GE completed a three-way split into GE Aerospace, GE Vernova, and GE Healthcare.
GE Aerospace
- Revenue (FY 2023): $31.8 billion
- Profit (FY 2023): $6.1 billion
GE has been a leader in developing aviation technology. The company built the first U.S. jet engine, the I-A, in 1941. In 1949, GE developed the J47, which would become the most-produced jet engine in history.
Today, GE Aerospace designs and manufactures commercial and military aircraft engines, engine components, and electric power and mechanical aircraft systems. The unit also offers aftermarket services to support its products. Following the spinoffs of GE’s renewable energy and healthcare units, GE is now solely focused on its aviation operations. This division, its biggest revenue generator, will be tied to its ticker (GE).
Note
GE is also an old hand in the entertainment business. In 1926, one of GE’s subsidiaries launched the National Broadcasting Corporation, better known today as NBC.
GE Power (now GE Vernova)
- Revenue (FY 2023): $17.7 billion
- Profit (FY 2023): $1.4 billion
Even before founding General Electric, Thomas Edison had already created the first electrical grid in 1882. His company played a pivotal role in developing the technology to generate and distribute energy.
Over the following decades, GE continued to lead in energy innovation, introducing the first commercial nuclear reactor in 1957. More recently, the company offered gas and steam turbines that use fossil fuels or nuclear power to produce electricity. Today, the GE Power segment was combined with GE Renewable Energy and GE Digital to form a new energy unit, GE Vernova (GEV) following a spinoff in March 2024.
GE Renewable Energy (now GE Vernova)
- Revenue (FY 2023): $15.1 billion
- Profit (FY 2023): -$1.4 billion
In addition to power and energy resources, the company develops and operates alternative forms of energy. GE Renewable Energy, which was a major GE business segment as of 2023, had over 400 gigawatts of installed capacity worldwide. GE is the largest producer of wind turbines in America, and the company’s wind and gas generators produce roughly 30% of the global share of electricity.
As mentioned above, the company combined GE Power, GE Renewable Energy, and its GE Digital business, which provides software that helps companies to analyze and optimize their operations, into GE Vernova in early 2024.
GE Healthcare
- Revenue (FY 2023): $19.6 billion
- Profit (FY 2023): $7.9 billion
GE has been a healthcare innovator almost since its founding. As early as 1896, the company was building electrical equipment for the production of X-ray machines.
Today, GE Healthcare comprises one of the company’s primary business segments. The company specializes in medical imaging, patient monitoring and diagnostics, drug discovery, and more. It operates in more than 160 countries and employs about 51,000 people worldwide.
GE spun off its healthcare unit into a separate public company in early 2023 while still retaining a 19.9% stake. The newly-formed company focuses on precision health, an approach to healthcare that accounts for patients’ unique genetic, behavioral, and environmental characteristics. It currently operates under the ticker (GEHC).
GE Capital
GE was once a major player in the banking and insurance industries, with half a trillion of total assets and over 35,000 employees worldwide in 2012. In fact, Money Magazine applauded GE Capital Bank for having the best savings account in the U.S. in 2013.
Starting in 2015, the company began to sell off most of its banking and finance arms. Over the following two years, further consolidation took place as additional business units were folded into other GE business arms, such as healthcare or aviation.
However, there are still a few remnants of GE’s financial empire, including GE Energy Services and GE Credit Union. However, revenues from GE Capital are no longer tallied as a separate business segment and were reported under “Corporate” in 2023.
Important
GE Capital suffered heavily in the 2008 Great Recession, due to its overexposure to commercial real estate and subprime lending. These losses prompted the company to shed most of its financial operations.
What Companies Does General Electric Own?
As of 2024, General Electric split into three distinct companies: GE Aerospace, GE Vernova, and GE Healthcare. GE Aerospace operates under its original ticker, (GE), while its energy unit GE Verona debuted as (GEV). GE Healthcare trades under the ticker (GEHC).
What Has GE Sold Off?
Following the 2008 financial crisis, GE was forced to sell off many of its peripheral businesses to other companies. GE Plastics was sold to Saudi Arabia in 2007; GE Transportation was sold to Wabtec; GE Appliances was sold to Haier, and most of the company’s financial operations were sold to Wells Fargo and other banks. The company also sold its last stake in NBCUniversal to Comcast in 2014.
Is General Electric Owned By China?
No. In 2016 General Electric sold GE Appliances to Haier Group, a Chinese conglomerate based in Qingdao. This sale was misreported on social media platforms as a direct purchase of GE by China.
Does GE Still Own GE Capital?
Although GE still owns the GE Capital name, it has sold most of its banking and finance operations to other companies. CEO Jeff Immelt announced in 2015 that the company would sell $200 billion of GE Capital’s assets, except for those parts used to fund the core operations of aviation, energy, and healthcare. The last division of GE Capital, GE Energy Financial Services, recently became a part of GE Vernova.
The Bottom Line
General Electric was once the largest conglomerate in the United States, and the name GE is still nearly synonymous with American entrepreneurship and ingenuity. However, the company has shrunk in recent decades, as company leaders have spun off or sold many of the company’s subsidiaries. After a three-way split in 2024, GE will become solely focused on the aviation industry following the spinoff of the company’s healthcare and energy divisions.
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