The New York Times reports that General Electric Company's (NYSE: GE) NBC Universal invested $894 million to secure the broadcast rights for the Beijing Olympics and it expects to earn a $100 million profit. The Times also quotes CEO Jeff Immelt as saying that the benefits to GE are even greater -- including "$700 million worth of services it is providing for the Games and its long-term relationship with China, where it does more than $4 billion worth of business."

How did GE make a profit on its Olympics investment? The Times reports that it was lucky that no big protests or press censorship marred the games. And it negotiated with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to schedule popular competitions -- such as swimming and gymnastics -- to coincide with prime time slots and to including much more Internet and on mobile device events streaming.

The Games have attracted enormous audiences. According to the Times, "the Games have drawn an average audience of about 30 million a night on NBC itself, millions more on NBC's cable channels, 30 million unique visitors to NBC's Olympics Web site, 6.3 million shared videos from the coverage streamed on the site."

Business Week reports that John Rice, who will head General Electric Co.'s (NYSE: GE) new Technology Infrastructure unit and is a corporate Vice Chairman, is sounding very CEO-like in his description of GE's recent reorganization -- which I discussed here.

Rice offered a more cogent explanation of the reorganization than what I have read so far. The key points:

• Transparency - BusinessWeek quotes Rice as saying, "It's an easier way for investors to view us and understand what we do." I don't agree with him because it will make it more difficult for investors to compare current performance with previous years' results for at least a year. That's because it will be difficult to compare four units to the previous six.
• Common sales force - Rice also suggested that the reorganization will streamline the sales of some products. For example, the new GE Energy Infrastructure, which includes energy, oil and gas, makes products that are frequently sold together. This makes sense to me -- as long as GE trains and motivates its sales force to sell them together.

Bloomberg News reports that General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) has cut the number of its business units from six to four. This change in organization structure should trim its overhead. But it could make it more difficult for investors to compare GE's performance before the reorganization to how it's doing after the change in structure.

The key unresolved question is whether the new structure will boost GE's revenue and profit growth. Bloomberg reports that the four new units will be GE Technology Infrastructure, GE Energy Infrastructure, GE Capital and NBC Universal. GE formerly had six units -- Reuters reports that GE Health Care, which was one of the six former divisions, now falls under the new Technology Infrastructure unit. GE's $13 billion consumer and industrial businesses, which include washing machines and lighting, is not part of the new structure -- in 2009 GE wants to spin those businesses off to shareholders.

Bloomberg reports that in May, GE CEO Jeff Immelt said that he intends to change GE's product mix to about 60% non-financial by 2010 -- far more than it is today. In 2007, GE's finance-related businesses accounted for 44% of net income and 53% of profit from continuing operations. It is not clear whether the new organization structure will help revive GE's revenue and profit growth.

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.

As so often happens, someone who played an instrumental role in a company for a long time can't seem to let go. The latest example is former General Electric (NYSE: GE) chief Jack Welch. The AP reported: "On Wednesday, Welch, who retired in 2001, said he would be "shocked beyond belief" if Chief Executive Jeff Immelt again missed an earnings target. He said he would "get out a gun and shoot" Immelt if GE missed an earnings target.

Welch, 72, also said Immelt had "credibility issues," but vigorously defended "GE's business model."

Even though he paid lip service to not wanting to bud in, he did. By shooting off his mouth he undermined the current CEO. Could it be possible that Welch should share the blame in GE's struggles? After all, he is the one who built up this huge conglomerate, only to leave before things starting getting tough. We saw the same thing over at Citigroup (NYSE: C), where Sandy Weill created a one-stop shop financial services company that has been crumbling before our very eyes.

Instead of being critical, Welch should keep quiet and continue to promote his book. Leave being the CEO to Immelt.

Aaron Katsman is the lead Portfolio Manager and Managing Director of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC. and Senior Editor of IsraelNewsletter.com. DISCLOSURE: Writer's fund has no position in any stock mentioned, as of 4/17/08.

Forbes reports that General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) ex-CEO Jack Welch is really angry with his successor Jeff Immelt. I don't know whether Welch still holds shares in GE but if he does, he can't be happy that they've fallen 20% since his hand-picked successor took over. But beyond the financial pain, Welch is suffering from a badly bruised ego -- that's because he prides himself on picking people. And he clearly blew it when he selected Immelt.

I saw Welch this morning sitting in the same spot I was in on GE's CNBC set last February during a stint on Squawk Box. And Welch had some choice words for Immelt. Forbes reports that Welch said "I'd be shocked beyond belief and I'd get a gun out and shoot him if he doesn't make what he promised now. Just deliver the earnings. Tell them you're going to grow 12 percent and deliver 12 percent."

I think the biggest problem for Welch is that it's become so obvious what a huge mistake he made in picking Immelt. As Welch said: "Here's the screw up: You made a promise that you'd deliver this and you missed three weeks later. Jeff has a credibility issue. He's getting his ass kicked. He apologized."

I've written about Immelt's mediocre performance since 2006. Maybe now that Jack Welch is chiming in, things will start to happen to boost GE's share price.

Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He owns GE shares.

General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) recently down $4.49 to $31.96:

GE reported Q1 earnings per share (EPS) of 44 cents versus consensus estimates of 51 cents. GE lowered 2008 EPS guidance to $2.20-$2.30. GE's Jeffery Immelt completed "Transformational" deals in 2003; paying $10 billion for Amersham and considerations valued at $5.5 billion for Vivendi.

GE call option volume of 410,894 contracts compared to put volume of 371,896 contracts. GE May option implied volatility of 33 was above a level of 27 from April 10 and its 26-week average of 25 according to Track Data, suggesting larger movement.

Options Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

General Electric (NYSE: GE) was a darling of Wall Street for a couple of decades under the tutelage of legendary CEO Jack Welch. Mr. Welch retired in September 2001 turning the reins over to hand-picked successor Jeffrey Immelt. Give Immelt a break for the first 18 months as he had to guide the company through the 9-11 tragedy and of course the normal honeymoon period. Since that grace period expired in early 2003, GE has severely under performed the market and time has come for Mr. Immelt to hand the reigns over to someone else.

It is very difficult following a "legend" as Jack Welch. Many business schools model a course or two on management based on Welch's methods of letting an executive run a division creatively and freely--just return the expected numbers and all is well. Jack Welch "raised" Jeffrey Immelt in this style and picked him as the CEO to replace himself. The styles however were not transferable. Times and the global landscape have changed since Welch's departure.

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) will be reporting earnings tomorrow morning at 8:30 a.m. EDT, and the company is set to have a handsome profit after the $11.6 billion sales of its plastics division. CEO Jeff Immelt has focused on selling slower-growth divisions in recent years to focus on faster growth areas like water processing technology, health care and eco-products ( products that help communities save energy).

The company's Q3 results are expected to include a $1.7 billion to $1.9 billion in collective charges, with a good 20% of that figure related to its exit from the mortgage business it operates under the WMC Mortgage Securities brand. Like every mortgage company with a subprime arm, GE's mortgage portfolio has lost money in recent times as consumers went belly-up with mortgage loan resets and foreclosures. The carnage rages on today and won't stop in 2008 according to many market watchers. There are many other financial transactions that will affect quarterly numbers as well. GE is a busy company these days, but that's to be expected with the enormous diversification it has globally.

Average analyst expectations call for an EPS of $0.50 on $42.42 billion in quarterly revenue. Specifically referenced as a major contributor to GE's expected results was the performance of its global infrastructure unit (everything from aircraft engines to steam turbines). Stay tuned to BloggingStocks in the morning, as I'll be covering GE's results in a liveblog right here.

In yesterday's lunch with General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) CFO Keith Sherin, the discussion addressed a wide variety of issues regarding the way GE thinks about managing its portfolio of businesses. My overall conclusion is that GE has a rigorous process for deciding what to keep and what to sell but as an investor I wish it was more transparent about how it makes those decisions.

Here are some of the nuggets of insight about GE which I found particularly interesting:

• At the beginning of current CEO Jeff Immelt's reign, GE was trading at a Price/Earnings ratio of 40 -- it now trades at roughly half that level
• GE goes through an annual process of evaluating each of its businesses to assess whether to keep or sell them. In so doing, GE analyzes the profit potential of the industry, GE's competitive position, whether GE is "the best steward" to run the business in a "shareholder-friendly" way, whether the business can achieve its goals, and whether there are opportunities to invest capital at high rates of return.
• GE expects its businesses to earn returns on average total capital (ROTC) exceeding 20%

General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) has a long, long way to go before attaining its 2000 high of $60 per share. This company has vastly under performed the markets, its peer group and any other measuring stick investors want to use. GE was a glamorous stock in the 1980's and 1990's under the watchful eye of CEO guru Jack Welch. He may have gotten out just in time!!

General Electric does suffer from the laws of large numbers.With a $400 billion market capitalization and a revenue run-rate this year of $175 billion, growing this beast is like moving the mountain. Actually, moving the mountain might be easier!. CEO Jeffrey Immelt, a lifer at GE, was hand-picked by Jack Welch back in early 2001, and Immelt took the reigns in late 2001, just after 9-11. His mission is formidable and onerous as GE flourished under Welch. Immelt's tenure has been marred by an under-performing company with a similar under-performing stock. Many shareholders and analysts, including yours truly, have done the back-of-the-envelope analysis and can say that GE broken up into various public units is worth more than $50 per share. The stock is currently at $39.15, a good 20-25% below break up value.

I have argued that breaking up GE would be good for the shareholders and its employees. New CEOs and boards of directors for the separate entities would bring new ideas, fresh perspectives and individual company expectations. GE is not only an American company, but a global giant. GE has operations and sell its products world wide.

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) Chief Executive Jeff Immelt's has given Jeff Zucker plenty of chances to improve NBC Universal. Now, it's time for someone else to run the media conglomerate.

Though NBC's performance is showing signs of improvement, it continues to be one of the laggards in the GE portfolio. Investors are clamoring for the Fairfield, Conn.-based company to spin-off or sell the media conglomerate. NBC prime time ratings are stagnant and still overly dependent on the "Law and Order" franchise. While I am a huge fan of "Scrubs" and "My Name is Earl," I realize that the quirky humor of those sitcoms may not appeal to everyone.

Yesterday, Zucker reshuffled the top management at NBC, ousting programming head Kevin Reilly and replacing him with with Ben Silverman and Mark Graboff. Maybe Zucker thought Reilly, whose contract was recently extended, was working too hard. I'm surprised that Zucker didn't escape the axe himself.

Indeed, anytime a company fills a job that one person did with two or more people, that's a bad sign. It's a recipe for instability and will guarantee turf battles between high-powered executives. However, this does allow Zucker the chance to spread blame around to more people when things go wrong or don't go right fast enough.

All of a sudden several portfolio managers I have worked with these past 16 years are getting interested again in General Electric (NYSE: GE). The subject of GE has surfaced at some investor conferences and the sharks may be circling the tank. So what's causing all the renewed interest in GE as it has underperformed these past five to six years?

That's exactly what has caused the interest in GE: its underperformance. I have written extensively these past three months about GE's obligation to maximize shareholder value. Either grow the company to satisfactory levels and have the stock perform or begin the process of evaluating the break up value of GE. The recently announced sale of its plastics/chemical division for over $411 billion was a good start.

Now there are indications the company is taking aggressive executive action at its laggard media property NBC/Universal. The executive changes at NBC are in hopes of raising the ratings going forward and of course calming the nerves of the major advertisers. One portfolio manager I have known for years, who runs a $10 billion growth fund has begun to add GE shares to his portfolio. He had 200,000 shares and is raising the exposure to one million shares. His reasoning is CEO Jeffrey Immelt has this year and possibly next to raise the profile and share price.

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE), Gentleman's C CEO Jeff Immelt, is close to selling GE Plastics to Saudi Arabia's largest public company, the Saudi Basic Industries Corporation. You'll remember Saudi Arabia as the supplier of 15 of the 19 9/11 mass murderers.

But Immelt is going to collect $11 billion and dump an under- performing unit where both he and his predecessor Jack Welch worked. Competition and price increases in raw materials have squeezed profit margins, even though GE Plastics increased product prices. For 2006, the division reported $6.6 billion in revenue -- about the same as in 2005 and its profit fell 22% to $674 million.

The deal raises national security concerns but investors seem to like it a little -- GE is up 1% in early trading.

Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates, a management consulting and venture capital firm. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He owns GE shares.

General Electric's (NYSE: GE) Jeff Immelt just made the inference during a CNBC interview that GE will not be showing any interest in Dow Jones (NYSE: DJ) and implied that it is not going to jettison its NBC media unit. There have been many reports that both would or could occur, and this last interview should put both issues to bed.

This is actually good news if you prefer the safety of a conglomerate in a slower economy. If you prefer only smaller growth stocks, then you have many other choices. It really boils down to your investor preference, but GE has safety in diversity and has built itself up over the better half of the last century. I have previously noted that a break-up would be a bad idea in the recent past and stand by that.

Immelt said in the interview the equivalent of "we have no interest at all in acquiring Dow Jones." He noted the newspaper business as not for them and also said he has respect for Rupert Murdoch and News Corp (NYSE: NWS), but any speculation left at all that Immelt or GE was interested in Dow Jones probably just got shot out the window.

Also he noted that GE wants to keep NBC and is happy with it. He noted once again that it would sell a business if someone else can run it better, but he noted that he expects to see double-digit growth at the end of the year in the unit. He also noted the upcoming Olympic coverage. So this is keeping that door open down the road but will kill any such speculation in the near-term.

Jon Ogg is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.