Think GE's gonna completely kill their dividend soon?

readytoretire answered 10 months ago …

They are caught in a no win situation. They have stated that the current dividend was safe for this year, but the market didn't/doesn't believe them. So their price has suffered like the dividend is coming down any day. Meanwhile, their income has dropped to the point that the dividend consumes 69% of their net. Which makes more people think it is history. Now cutting the dividend would save them quite a bit of capital, which they could really use. But their stock would still take a big hit when they announce, even though it is already down due to the anticipation of them announcing. So they can't win, unless the economy turns enough that they can see the light at the end of the tunnel. They have been getting some good contracts for power generation equipment from the middle east, so that will help their industrial side, and the finance side if it was financed.