Businesses

Main article: List of assets owned by General Electric

GE's divisions include GE Capital (including GE Commercial Finance and GE Money and GE Consumer Finance,^[13]), GE Technology Infrastructure (including GE Aviation,the former Smiths Aerospace and GE Healthcare), GE Energy Infrastructure, and NBC Universal, an entertainment company.

Through these businesses, GE participates in a wide variety of markets including the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity (eg. Nuclear,^[14] gas and solar), lighting, industrial automation, medical imaging equipment, motors, railway locomotives, aircraft jet engines, and aviation services. It was co-founder and is 80% owner (with Vivendi) of NBC Universal, the National Broadcasting Company. Through GE Commercial Finance, GE Consumer Finance, GE Equipment Services, and GE Insurance it offers a range of financial services as well. It has a presence in over 100 countries.

Since over half of GE's revenue is derived from financial services, it is arguably a financial company with a manufacturing arm. It is also one of the largest lenders in countries other than the United States, such as Japan. Even though the first wave of conglomerates (such as ITT, Ling-Temco-Vought, Tenneco, etc) fell by the wayside by the mid-1980s, in the late 1990s, another wave (consisting of Westinghouse, Tyco, and others) tried and failed to emulate GE's success.

It was announced in May 2008 that General Electric would auction off its appliances business for an expected sale of $5-8 billion.^[15]

[edit] Corporate achievements

In 2004, GE was named number one company for employers and employees on the Forbes 500 Global Player list.

Over the years GE has received several awards honoring them for their accomplishments, values and reputation:

• In Fortune Magazine's 2005 "Global Most Admired Companies" list, GE ranked first overall. (February 2005)
• In Fortune Magazine's 2006 "America's Most Admired Companies" list, GE ranked first overall. (March 2006)^[16]
• GE was named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index as one of the world's leaders in environmental, social and economic programs.
• GE ranked ninth on Fortune Magazine's "50 Most Desirable MBA Employers" list. (April 2004)

[edit] Analyst coverage

See Yahoo! analyst coverage

• Germanotta, Jeffrey (William Blair & Company, L.L.C.)
• Cornell, Robert (Lehman Brothers)
• Parent, Nicole (Credit Suisse First Boston)
• Dray, Deane (Goldman Sachs)