 "John Flannery")
For much of the past century, General Electric Co. — whose history stretches back to Thomas Edison’s lightbulb — had been a symbol of the by-the-numbers management credo that ruled American business before the digital age. But GE’s eyesore of an earnings report on Oct. 20 leaves little doubt that the 125-year-old company, with a market value of $186 billion, is facing a financial and cultural senior moment.
This icon of American industry has been forced to cut its earnings and cash flow outlook so drastically that investors are now preparing for a once-unthinkable cut to its dividend. A rapid-fire
