General Electric said their quarterly profit dropped 44% on weakness and also warned that 2009 would be very challenging. CEO Jeff Immelt said that the results showed a what a terrible economic situation we are in. “We’re planning for a really tough environment,” Immelt told analysts on a conference call. “The recession is tough, the financial services crisis is worse.” “GE is not fully out of the woods and macro uncertainties continue to point to continued risk for the dividend and AAA-rating,” said Goldman Sachs analyst Terry Darling.
Immelt, 52, defended the dividend, calling it “a good return to investors in this moment of uncertainty. But we’re not straining in order to pay it. We’ve got lots of cash.”
GE shares closed down $1.45 to $12.03 on the NYSE. GE trades 6.9 times forecast 2009 earnings.
Hey Jeff, why would you pay out 13 billion in dividends when you borrowed money from buffet at 10%. This Immelt is an idiot. Is this the biggest ponzi scheme ever???
