As far as I'm concerned, I think GE didn't fare too badly during the quarter. And the press release states that the capital finance division should be profitable when the fiscal year is in the books. Granted, though, that operating segment still has a lot of problems. As everyone has been saying, we're not out of the woods yet when it comes to financial issues.

The worst part of the report for me can be found in the statement of cash flows. Take a look at it. This is why GE management was so keen on cutting the dividend (see Jamie Dlugosch's article on this subject). Cash from operations took a big dive, dropping 42%. This was driven by the lack of a dividend from GE Capital Services. Expected? Sure. Nevertheless, do I feel good about it? Not at all.

Energy infrastructure and technology infrastructure are two segments that are doing well. These segments saw their incomes rise by 19% and 6%, respectively. However, there is one segment that really irritates me, primarily because I think, recession or not, it doesn't necessarily need to perform as financially poorly as it does at times. I speak of NBC Universal. Revenues declined 2% for the business, and income plunged 45%. I know I'm a broken record on this issue, but seriously, they have the ability to cut out a lot of ridiculous costs and expenses at the media company. It's probably a lot easier to become efficient at NBC Universal than it is at the more industrial operations. Talent used in content assets simply makes too much in terms of compensation, and that's an easier fix to make than Hollywood execs would have you believe. Remember, GE, many have called on you to dump this asset. Fix it or lose it! Granted, it's competitive out there with the likes of Disney (NYSE: DIS), News Corp. (NASDAQ: NWS), and CBS (NYSE: CBS) gunning for you, but let them overpay for programming while you play hardball and aggressively streamline.

Now, what should investors do concerning the stock? Maybe you should let the stock tell you what to do. As of this writing, the stock is up 3%, but the volume isn't that impressive in my opinion. I see a lack of conviction. When I couple that with the fact that GE has had a run-up recently, I come to the conclusion that the shares may not be a great buy here. Yet, I definitely have felt more bullish on GE in recent times. I think the best thing to do, now that the earnings are out, is wait for the stock to pull back below $10 per share and then assess its potential at that point. No, I don't have a crystal ball, and I cannot say for certain that the stock will go back below that level (heck, as a shareholder, I hope it doesn't!). But considering today's price action, I have to say that it might not be wise to jump in at this particular point.

Disclosure: I own Disney, GE; positions can change without notice.