General Electric (NYSE: GE) will release the company’s first quarter 2010 earnings on Friday, April 16th. The release will be followed immediately by a conference call at 8:30 AM eastern to discuss the report. Participants in the conference call will include Jeff Immelt, Chairman and CEO; Keith Sherin, Vice Chairman and CFO; and Trevor Schauenberg, VP Investor Communications.
The consensus estimate for the company’s first quarter earnings is $0.16 per share or a total of $36.79 billion. Analyst estimates range on the company between $0.12 per share to $0.21 per share. During the first quarter of 2009, General Electric had earnings of $0.26 per share totalling $38.41 billion.
General Electric has reported earnings relatively close to consensus estimates during the last four quarters. During the first quarter of 2009, General Electric posted 5 cents above the average forecast and then only 2 or 3 cents above the average forecast during the second, third and fourth quarters last year.
Many of G.E.’s businesses were hit hard by the financial crisis and the recession that followed. The company’s finance unit, G.E. Capital, had to take significant write-offs during the last two years.
General Electric’s revenues and earnings are expected to remain flat compared to 2009. The first two quarters of 2010 will likely be below 2009 levels and then profits are generally expected to pick up during the second half of the year.
