GE Changes Over A Quarter Of A Century: Evolution In Industry And Consumer-Focus

General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) was once called the barometer of the U.S. economy, given its mammoth size and the diverse nature of its businesses. Since then, the company has both trimmed and bulked up, giving it a different shape and size, which no longer resembles the original GE.

Acquisitions In Recent Past

GE's Recent Disposals

Evolution Over Years

A peek at the annual report of 1993 shows that the company operated as two main units, focused on industry and consumers. The industry-focused business had among it:

• Aircraft engines.
• Appliances.
• Broadcasting.
• Industrial products and systems.
• Materials.
• Power generation.
• Technical products and services.

Meanwhile, the consumer segment had financing and specialty insurance. The former accounted for roughly 70 percent of the total revenues and the latter 30 percent. Segment operating profit, less eliminations, saw a break-up of 90 and 10 percent from the industry and consumer business, respectively.

Meanwhile, in 2015, GE's segments under industrial business was as follows:

• Power.
• Renewable Energy.
• Oil & Gas.
• Energy Management.
• Aviation.
• Healthcare.
• Transportation.
• Appliances & Lighting.

These businesses in total accounted for roughly 91 percent of the total company revenues, with Power and Energy & Management contributing roughly 21 percent and 18 percent, respectively to the total.

Meanwhile, GE Capital accounted for roughly 9 percent of the total revenues, but bled at the operating level. The $17.97 billion operating profit generated by the core industrial businesses helped to offset losses by the finance segment.

Oil & Gas business, which GE plans to spin-off as a separate publicly traded entity post its planned merger with Baker Hughes Incorporated (NYSE: BHI) also accounted for a sizeable chunk of (roughly 14 percent) total revenues in 2015 and contributed $2.43 billion to segment profit.

GE exited the broadcasting business completely in 2013 by selling its entire stake in NBC Universal to Comcast. Earlier in 2009, the company had sold off a majority stake in Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA).

In early 2015, GE announced its intention to create a simpler and more valuable industrial company by selling most of its non-core GE Capital Assets, although retaining financing verticals essential to its core industrial businesses. So, it is truly imagination at work at the conglomerate.

Image Credit: By Pieter van Marion from Netherlands (A collection of KLM wheels) [CC BY-SA 2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons