GE: three lost years, and the economy wasn't the reason.

1. From profit to three straight losses. GE earned $22.7 billion in 2014–2016. Then it lost money every year from 2017 to 2019: $35.8 billion in all. 2020 was its first profit in four years: $5.7 billion.
2. It wasn't the cycle. The losses began in 2017, a year the US economy grew 2.5% and factories added jobs. When a company falls while its economy grows, look inside the company first.
3. Left behind by its peers. From 2016 to 2025, its revenue shrank 62% in US dollars; the median among 181 large manufacturers grew 49%. It outgrew only 1% of them.
4. Still smaller than it was. Revenue reached $45.9 billion in 2025, 62% below its 2016 peak of $119 billion.
5. Leaders came and went. GE filed 37 leadership changes since 2016, more than 89% of large manufacturers (the median is 20). The day after each, its shares moved a median 0.4 points against its sector. The news was rarely news.

Financial results

As reported in its annual filings. Losses in red.

Stratrix Decision Cases

• 2015GE Bought Fossil Turbines One Month Before the Paris Agreement — the Machine's Last MoveStood · shares −100 pts vs the S&P 500 over 3 years
• 2015GE's Breakup Began in 2013, When a Regulator Labeled GE Capital Systemically ImportantStood · shares −74 pts vs the S&P 500 over 3 years
• 2008In December 2008, GE Borrowed on America's Full Faith and Credit to Save Its Invisible BankHeld in part · shares −44 pts vs the S&P 500 over 3 years