There was a time when General Electric (GE) was the ultimate news-maker. Financial buffs had gone fanatical over the stock. Flash-forward to present times - the luster seems to have faded off, confidence in the stock has since eroded and most investors have fled in pursuit of more profitable ventures. Although some of the reasons given by investors for averting the stock may seem irrational, one anonymous quote seems to hammer the point quite clearly - rationalize all you want, reality is reality. General Electric's status quo falls short of its past glory.
As I was just about to rest my case on General Electric, one thing caught my attention. The big wig conglomerate is actually raising the tempo, not a few notches higher, but tenfold. It is simply amazing and, in my opinion, does a lot to patch up. General Electric has taken the backseat in Wall Street politics and given priority to its core operations.
A robot that scales the heights
General Electric wants to restore the synonymy that once existed between itself and innovation. It is doing this through a robot that climbs surfaces to incredible heights of up to 300ft - this is a mere 60ft off the standard length of a football field. This peerless work of innovation is the joint effort of General Electric's Global Research Center and New York based International Climbing Machines.
Of course, the robot crawler wasn't built to perform superhero acrobatics. Its primary purpose is the inspection of wind turbine blades. The robot is remotely controlled and is strapped with a wireless high definition camera that photographs turbine blades and sends them back to site engineers on the ground.
In my line of thought, breakthroughs such as these do a lot to reinforcce General Electric's dominance. Although the breakthrough won't rattle the market in one bout, it gives relevance to the name General Electric. Giving relevance to General Electric at such a moment is very timely. Why so? A new breed of investors is welling by the day - these are the investors who have turned their backs away from old age stocks and blatantly display their inclination towards high profile tech stocks. General Electric, therefore, needs to remain relevant at the least.
Of an EU study and probable buys in the German middle market - too much of a coincidence
In a recent study spearheaded by GE capital and a group of Europe Business School students, it was established that the middle market companies were the elusive driving force behind the rickety European economy in 2007-2010. The study particularly spanned over Italy, France, the U.K and Germany. (Take note of Germany.)
Following the study, General Electric has coincidentally (red ink: I highly doubt) set its eagle eye upon Germany. Let's face it; this is too much of a coincidence. General Electric not only has its gaze fixed on Germany but has particularly isolated its glance in the direction of middle sized companies. Didn't the study reveal that middle sized companies were the overlooked gem in the mine? Yes, it did. My take; this is not coincidence.
Christoph Reimnitz, the head of strategies, mergers and acquisitions in Germany, told a local paper that General Electric hoped to accomplish one takeover at the fall of the year. He, however, failed to highlight the exact amount of money that would be pumped into the German space.
Still not convinced that General Electric has raised the tempo? Mind you, this is after it was revealed that German midsized companies were economic oases.
Other plans in the pipeline include General Electric's plans to supply wind turbines to Michigan and Iowa. These turbines will be utilized in the alternative energy niche (which by the way is growing by the day). This move continues to push the limelight towards General Electric with regard to sustainability. In these current times, establishing a reputable name in sustainability and other green initiatives is obligatory.
In conclusion, General Electric has really propped up its relevance by increasing its tempo in crucial areas- innovations and future prospects. Although the negatives are still profound, the future spells hope. For an investor looking for returns in the long haul, General Electric is a good buy.
Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.
