General Electric (NYSE: GE) has been in turnaround mode since the 2008-09 recession. The industrial icon has jettisoned a series of businesses along the way in an effort to raise cash and streamline around a smaller core. It has been a difficult road, to say the least, with the stock trading hands today at roughly the same price as it did during the worst of the so-called "Great Recession."
Still, while the most recent asset sale was small by historical standards, it makes a statement about the future. In fact, long-term investors might want to spend a moment to contemplate where GE has been and where this deal suggests it is going today, because a lot has changed over the past decade.
Many in the business and investment communities have given Jack Welch accolades for his time at the helm of industrial conglomerate GE. However, it was under his watch that the company allowed its finance division to stray well beyond its core purpose of helping customers purchase expensive GE products (like jet engines and power turbines) and into things like mortgages. When the Great Recession hit, Welch's successor, Jeff Immelt, was left to deal with the fallout of Welch's actions.
Source Fool.com