As GE earnings come around, Immelt faces pressure

It is hard to imagine GE (NYSE: GE) ever replacing or cutting the power of its CEO, Jeff Immelt, but the press is mentioning these alternatives ahead of the company's Q2 earnings report. According to The New York Post, "Jeff Immelt, the embattled GE chief executive, has got six months to save his skin."

GE's Q1 earnings were below Wall Street estimates and the only segment of the company which did really well was its huge infrastructure division. Investors question whether the most recently quarter will be any better, especially with a slowing economy.

GE's stock is already down from a 52-week high of $42.15 to its current price of $26.91. Over the last year, the stock is down 30% compared to the Dow, which is off 17%.

GE still faces the problem that many of its shareholder think it is too big to manage and is in too many businesses. Added to that may be trouble growing overseas which the company is counting on to drive revenue. With the some economic problems spreading to the developing world that is hardly a lock.

If GE can't deliver when it announces its next set of numbers, the shares are likely to move closer to $20.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.