GE's Losing Streak Reaches 12 Months With $138 Billion Wiped Out

(Bloomberg) -- Talk about a year to forget for General Electric Co.

The beleaguered manufacturer's stock fell 13 percent in February, marking the 12th consecutive monthly decline. The S&P's 500 Index rose in 10 of those months.

The yearlong decline is GE's longest losing streak on record, according to data compiled by Bloomberg that goes back to 1971. The 12-month tally of GE shareholder losses: $138 billion.

Chief Executive Officer John Flannery, who took the helm in mid-2017, is cutting costs and reshaping the portfolio to try to pull GE out of one of the worst slumps in its 126-year history. The Boston-based company has faced myriad challenges, from flagging demand for industrial equipment to a Securities and Exchange Commission probe of its accounting.

The slide started as cash-flow problems emerged under former CEO Jeffrey Immelt, and only got worse after Flannery slashed the dividend and revealed poor earnings. While the new CEO won praise this week for an overhaul of the board, at least one analyst said GE isn't poised for a quick rebound: Julian Mitchell at Barclays said he's inclined to “wait on the sidelines until we have a clearer sense that the bottom has been reached.”

Shares fell 2.7 percent to $14.11 at the close Wednesday in New York.

To contact the reporter on this story: Richard Clough in New York at rclough9@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Case at bcase4@bloomberg.net, Susan Warren, Tony Robinson

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