Filed under: Management, General Electric (GE), Marketing and advertising
Several media outlets have reported that GE’s (NYSE: GE) CEO Jeff Immelt used a webcast to try to reach the company’s two million smaller shareholders. The project included Immelt being questioned by Carl Quintanilla of CNBC, and Chrystia Freedland of The Financial Times.
The webcast drew 6,000 questions over the web, but Immelt could only answer a little fraction of those. According to The New York Times, Mr. Immelt had one message: “We ought to be trading at a premium to the S.& P.”
GE is missing the boat. Whether it is through webcasts or meetings with large investors, Wall Street does not believe in the conglomerate’s strategy. At this point, the growth at GE comes from its infrastructure and financial operations. Divisions like NBC Universal, the company’s medical group, and its industrial operations are a drag on the company’s overall results.
GE trades near a 52-week low. PR won’t solve that problem. The company needs to restructure and dump the dogs.
Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.
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