Key Takeaways
- General Electric completed its transition of splitting into three separate companies Tuesday, with GE Vernova, GE Aerospace, and GE Healthcare all trading under separate stock tickers.
- GE’s energy division, GE Vernova, started trading under the “GEV” ticker Tuesday, while the longtime “GE” ticker is now attached to GE Aerospace.
- GE Healthcare was spun off last year and trades under the “GEHC” ticker.
General Electric completed its long-awaited split into three separately traded companies Tuesday, with the company’s energy division GE Vernova making its trading debut under the “GEV” ticker.
Stockholders of the former GE on record as of March 19 were given one share of GE Vernova for every four shares they held in its parent company. The longtime “GE” ticker is now attached to GE Aerospace, which focuses on aviation technology like airplane engines, the largest division of the former conglomerate in terms of revenue. GE Healthcare was spun off last year, trading under the “GEHC” ticker, and has gained about 57% in value since it started trading.
GE Vernova shares fell 1.4% to $140 in their first day of trading Tuesday, while GE Aerospace shares finished 2.4% lower at $136.47. Some data providers temporarily displayed a much steeper decline as systems were being updated to reflect the change.
Investors will get an update on GE Aerospace’s financials as a distinct public company later this month, when it reports first-quarter earnings before markets open on April 23. GE Vernova’s first-quarter earnings will follow on April 25.
GE CEO Larry Culp will continue to lead GE Aerospace. He told investors when the split was first announced in 2021 that the company believed it was under-owned by investors across its categories including healthcare, aerospace, and energy, at least in part because those who only wanted to invest in one category may have been intimidated by GE’s size and other ventures. GE has sold and divested a number of its former subsidiaries since the 2008 financial crisis hammered the company’s finances.
“The launch of GE Aerospace represents the completion of GE’s multi-year financial and operational transformation,” Culp said in a release Tuesday, adding that “over the last several years GE has taken steps to significantly strengthen the business, including more than $100 billion in debt reduction since 2018.”
“This stronger foundation enabled the successful creation of three independent companies—GE HealthCare, GE Vernova, and GE Aerospace—each of which are now well-positioned to build upon GE’s history of innovation.”