Power division weighs on GE

Article Excerpt

GENERAL ELECTRIC CO. $88 remains a hold. The conglomerate (New York symbol GE; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 1.1 billion; Market cap: $96.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.3; Dividend yield: 0.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.ge.com) plans to break itself up into three separate companies: GE HealthCare (X-ray equipment, MRI and ultrasound scanners); GE Vernova (renewable energy and power); and GE Aerospace (jet engines and aircraft electronics). The company has not yet announced the details of these spinoffs, but it expects to complete these transactions in 2023 and 2024. Meantime, in the third quarter of 2022, GE’s revenue rose 3.5%, to $18.44 billion from $17.81 billion a year earlier. Stronger demand for aerospace and healthcare equipment offset weaker sales of power equipment. However, lower profits at the power business also cut per-share earnings before unusual items 34.0%, to $0.35 from $0.53. GE is still a hold. hold…