GE aviation and energy businesses start trading on NYSE, marking the end of the conglomerate

General Electric, long a symbol of American manufacturing and steeped in a rich history, is officially moving on from its existence as a sprawling conglomerate. In its heyday, GE’s stock became one of the most sought after on Wall Street under Jack Welch, one of America’s first CEO “superstars.” Nicknamed “the house that Jack built,” GE routinely outperformed peers and the broader market, helped in part by GE Capital, its financial wing. In a letter to shareholders in February, CEO Larry Culp touched upon GE’s history, recalling how in the first ever letter to shareholders that CEO Charles Coffin “wrote that the creation of the General Electric Company was ‘largely because of the zeal and hearty co-operation’ of our employees.” With the split of its companies complete, Culp said it was not an end, but rather a beginning for GE. With an installed base of approximately 44,000 commercial engines and approximately 26,000 military and defense engines globally, GE Aerospace posted adjusted revenue of about $32 billion last year. “With the successful launch of three independent, public companies now complete – today marks a historic final step in the multi-year transformation of GE,” Culp said in a statement.