GE (GE) Bests Estimates, Entertainment And Capital Results A Horror

GE (NYSE:GE) did better than most Wall St. analysts believed it would.

Fourth-quarter revenue fell 10% to $41.4 billion. Fourth-quarter earnings from continuing operations attributable to GE were $3.0 billion, down 22% from $3.9 billion in the fourth quarter of 2008. EPS from continuing operations was $0.28, down 22% from the fourth quarter of last year.

There was plenty of bad news below the top line. GE’s capital finance unit lost 15% of its revenue, falling to $12.4 billion and operating income at the division was off 67% for the quarter to $336 million.  The NBCU news and entertainment unit was slaughtered at the bottom line even before the Leno trouble.  Operating income at the division fell 30% to $602 for the quarter and revenue was down 4% to $4.3 billion. It is anyone’s guess what Comcast (CMCSA) wants with the operation.

GE was not saved by its flagship infrastructure units. Energy infrastructure revenue was down 9% to $10.4 billion and operating income was up 9% to $2.2 billion. The results for the technology infrastructure unit were even worse. Revenue dropped 10% to $11.3 billion and operating income plunged 16% to $2.1 billion. So much for owning a diversity of businesses.

GE is now no more than a proxy for the broader economy. Its stock has been a horrible investment over the last five years, down over 50% while the DJIA has been flat. Even the sales of the NBCU unit will not do much to change the P&L profile of GE, so, to investors, the transaction is hardly a transformation.

The notion that GE has lost its way gets more support with each passing quarter.

Douglas A. McIntyre