Negative PR And Market Cap: GE's (GE) Missing $200 Billion?

VMS, which monitors television content for its PR value, recently reported that Twitter had received $48 million in free media public relations in the last month.

The dynamic of press mentions certainly can work to undermine the value of businesses just as it  can improve them. Apple’s (AAPL) market cap has almost certainly benefited from the tremendous amount of free press that it gets for its products and management. In less than a year, it has added about $125 billion in market cap. During a similar period, GE (GE), which has suffered from relentless negative PR, has lost over $200 billion in stock value.

Could GE’s public relations department prevented any of that market cap erosion? The firm certainly gets mentioned in the press as much as almost any other company in the world. But, linking media exposure to stock market value is impossible.

Brand value may be another matter. According to Interbrand, GE’s brand was worth just over $53 billion in its 2008 survey, up 3% from the year before. Apple’s brand value was well down the list at $13.7 billion, up 24%. Will the negative PR around GE’s businesses effect its brand value the way it probably has its market cap? Investors will get a partial answer in two months. That is when Interbrand will release its 2009 results.

Douglas A. McIntyre