GE By the Numbers: “170,000,000,000”

March 31, 2009

At GE Reports, we come across eye-popping numbers every day — whether they’re in the lab, in the field, or on the books. Since these standouts sometimes get overlooked or drowned out by other news, we use our new occasional series, By the Numbers, to give them their due. Our last one was ”12,000” — which is the number of GE wind turbines installed worldwide. Today it’s “170,000,000,000” — as in $170 billion: the approximate amount that GE’s cumulative net earnings are approaching this decade.


Flight path: Aviation is a good example of a GE business that can grow earnings going forward even if the market for new aircraft declines. GE has $90 billion of potential long-term aviation service revenues just on the engines we have shipped in the last three years — and 40 percent of our engines have not had their first overhaul yet.

Helping fuel this cumulative figure was GE’s performance in 2008. Despite the global economic meltdown, GE delivered earnings of $18.1 billion last year — the third highest in the company’s history. Revenues in 2008 grew by 6% to a company record of approximately $183 billion.

Part of GE’s performance can be attributed to the company’s strategy of being more global, which resulted in non-U.S. revenues averaging 13 percent annual growth this decade. GE’s global strategy, in which growth is accelerated by expanding local product lines and creating partnerships with local champions, has resulted in GE generating more than $1 billion in revenues in more than 25 countries.


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  • GTGray

    GE delivered earnings of $18.1 billion last year — the third highest in the company’s history. Revenues in 2008 grew by 6% to a company record of approximately $183 billion. Why are we not getting record salery increases? Or at least the 3rd highest in the company’s history? That GE by the numbers for you… $0 salery increase.

  • GFal

    How are you getting the 170B? It looks like GE earned 150B in Net earnings from 2000 until 2008???

  • For GFal

    If you read the whole piece you’d notice it says "…are approaching this decade."

  • M Espin

    I agree with GT Gray. We have just been informed that our pay increase for 2008 will be frozen in 2009

  • DP

    Our the $0 salary increase calculated into GE profit margins or will that be in 2009 numbers

  • afs

    One more in agreement with GT Gray. Why are we not getting pay increases ? Where did all the revenue go ?

  • ugh

    How much higher would the 170B be if executives had to give up their IC compensation for 2008 performance like the rest of us gave up our 2009 increases related to 2008 performance?

  • Lawrence Hall

    Why send out this article? The comments suggest you have unhappy troops with no pay increase for their efforts. The only info GE should publish is based on the FUTURE and can GE perform. The Company has thousands of retirees that have lost their retirment.

  • Jeff

    Not only no pay increase but LAYOFFS too!
    Don’t see this getting published.
    How many exec’ are getting the termination notice???? Can you say "count on one hand"

  • Whatda Heck

    Whatdaheck,Big deal,so we made 100s of billions,it doesnt tranlate to anything! I havent yet lost my retirement yet,but all I care about IS retiring to get out ASAP. Why would you post all these articles "Pluck", GE and Google", Keith Sherin, when Youtube is a forbidden site……..

  • mat

    The bonuses and stock awards for company officers for 2008 are in the 2009 Proxy Statement (pg 23):

    http://www.ge.com/pdf/investors/financial_reporting/proxy_statements/ge_proxy2009.pdf

  • Jeff Magee

    I am a hourly employee. I’ve been here almost 20 years and this company has treated me great. In fact they have bent over backwards to accommodate me. Great pay and benefits. It is a free country, if you are unhappy move on. Life is too short to work for such an "unfair" company.

  • Mike

    I guess this story (and comments) was too hot for GE! Looks like they pulled it from the "insideGE Portal", which unfortunately is my default, unchangable home page!

  • Gary B

    The cumulative net earnings figure of $170 billion approaching this decade is quite impressive, but so is the loss of shareholder value during that same period – close to 80% decline since the beginning of this decade! I am still hopeful that the GE shares in my 401K will regain their value when I retire in the next decade – that’s long term investing.

  • Megan Parker

    Hi Mike- Megan from GE. Just to give you some background, InsideGE (our intranet) automatically features the most recent GE Reports story. Because we published another story today (http://www.gereports.com/ge-sensors-help-hotheads-stay-cool/) this one was moved off the page to make room for the new one. Hope that clarifies the move.

  • Go GE!

    last year our GE business made a huge profit of over $40 MM. There are 850 staff, 100 or so Salaried. How do we get rewarded? give the hourly paid 2.5% increase, and zip for the Salaried.

  • if a company goes under

    Several companies are struggling at the brink of go under…one who is still holding a job, not part of the 5.3 Million unemployed, is lucky and be thankful…
    Some companies around the world are cutting hours and pays…

  • CashedUp

    I really want GE shares to stay where they are for at least 12-24 months so I can accumulate, alas, the market wont allow this because the sellers are no more!!!

  • Allina Dayswork.

    Getting back to the numbers! If you were to count of the profit for 2008 in $1 bills,(or Euro’s for that matter) at a rate of $1 a secod it would take you 575.5 years, 24hr a day. I guess I’d ask for it in $100.

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