General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) is scheduled to report second quarter earnings this Friday. Ten analysts that Zacks surveys expect GE to make 53 cents a share, the same as it did in 2007. Given that 0% growth rate, GE's forward Price/Earnings ratio of 12.1 seems a bit on the high side.

But after the spanking that CEO Jeff Immelt took after missing in the first quarter by 13.7%, he could be guiding analysts lower only to surprise them on the upside. This makes me wonder whether analysts have a higher, whisper number in mind. GE stock is down 32% since Immelt took over on September 7, 2001, but with the exception of the first quarter, over the last five years GE has increased earnings at an 8.1% annual rate.

If it got back on that track in the second quarter, then investors would expect GE to earn 57 cents a share, instead of the official 53 cents. In that case, GE stock would fall unless it exceeded 57 cents a share. I have not been able to determine whether there is such a whisper number floating around Wall Street, but there's no question in my mind that Immelt cannot afford to report a number less than 53 cents a share if he wants to keep his job.