- EPS: 22 cents a share expected, according to analysts surveyed by Refinitiv.
- Revenue: $32.6 billion expected, according to analysts surveyed by Refinitiv.
GE shares were up 2 percent in premarket trading before the results.
Investors will be looking for numerous points of clarity on GE’s accounting, as well as the company’s first forecast of what’s to come in 2019. CEO Larry Culp did not provide year-ahead guidance in GE’s third quarter but is expected to give a forecast in this report.
The GE Capital portfolio remains under scrutiny, as shareholders watch to see if GE can reduce the insurance company’s outstanding debt. Additionally, GE revealed in the third quarter that both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice widened their investigations into GE’s accounting practices. GE said it was “cooperating” with both investigations, which began following a review of GE Capital’s insurance portfolio.
GE spun off several businesses in 2018 to generate cash and shrink its footprint. The value of GE following those spinoffs has been a key point of debate among Wall Street analysts.
J.P. Morgan’s Stephen Tusa warned investors earlier this week that the stock may turn lower after the results. Tusa, who is widely followed for his calls on GE, has said that a level around $6 a share was the bottom. GE closed Wednesday trading at $9.10 a share.
Tusa laid out six “key questions” GE should answer this quarter, including an update to the problems facing its new turbines and guidance for headwinds in the aviation business.
Gordon Haskett analyst John Inch told clients that GE may also change the way it reports its accounting. Shifting the company’s earnings presentation to generally accepted accounting principles “would be a welcome relief,” Inch said, although it could “shock” the market. GE’s earnings presentations have not historically included restructuring charges, which are often more than $1 billion per quarter.
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