Invest and Deliver Every Day

Creating the future requires the ability to deliver in the face of challenge. GE leaders understand today's environment, and we have been planning for it. Explore our steadfast commitment to executing our financial goals, every day, no matter what.

To Our Investors,
Bubbles burst and excess ends in an ugly fashion. The easy credit cycles that defi ned the recent past have given way to a tidal wave of fi nancial crises. As I am writing, banks have written off almost $150 billion, entire classes of securities have disappeared, and rating agencies have been criticized. This transition — from easy credit to no liquidity — seemed to occur in the blink of an eye.

Housing was particularly challenged. After fueling consumer wealth for many years, U.S. housing prices declined for the first time in 40 years. Subprime lending standards and complex investment products with risks that were not clearly understood created a “hangover” for consumers and fi nancial institutions.

The environment we face today is a challenging one. How will the U.S. consumer respond to falling housing prices? Should we worry about infl ation or recession or both? Can the global markets expand while the U.S. contracts? What impact will the U.S. election have? Will banks resume lending money again at normal levels — when, and at what price?

You could try to pick the perfect investment for this environment, but it would be a challenge. Maybe it is in technology, or emerging markets, or commodities, or Treasury bills. Or, you could pick GE. A company leading in the essential themes of this global era. A high-performance company filled with strong businesses. A company dedicated to developing leaders. A company built to perform in good times and bad.

One reason for my confi dence is our performance. Even in these diffi cult markets, 2007 was another record-setting year. Revenues grew 14% to $173 billion. Earnings from continuing operations grew 16% to $22.5 billion. We generated record industrial cash fl ow, and returned $25.4 billion to investors through the dividend and stock buyback.

We performed well against the operating metrics that we use to measure our progress. Organic revenue growth was 9%, surpassing our goal of growing at 2 to 3 times GDP growth.

Earnings per share (EPS) from continuing operations grew 18%, well above our double-digit goal. Our operating profit margin grew 70 basis points, below our 100-basis-point goal, but we made good progress. Returns reached 18.9%, and we are on track for 20% in 2008. Industrial cash from operations grew 15%, well above our target, and our free cash fl ow was $19 billion.

Can we continue to perform well in 2008? It will be challenging, as we expect U.S. consumer spending to slow and credit to tighten and be more expensive. However, GE is well-suited for this environment and any other. This is because we invest and deliver. We do this every day, every quarter, and every year. ...

Jeffrey R. Immelt
Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
February 20, 2008

Download GE Annual Report 2007

PDF format, 3.8MB, 120Pages.

CONTENTS
1 Letter to Investors
12 Invest and Deliver … Every Day
36 Governance
38 Citizenship
39 Financial Section
114 Corporate Management
116 Corporate Information

TOP TEN 2007 GROWTH FACTS ABOUT YOUR COMPANY
• Third straight year of organic revenue growth of 2 to 3 times GDP growth
• Earnings per share (EPS) of $2.20, an increase of 18%
• Global revenue growth of 22%, more than half of revenues outside the U.S.
• Orders growth of 18%
• Equipment backlog of $49 billion, an increase of 54%; service backlog of $109 billion, an increase of 17%
• Financial services assets growth of 16%
• Free cash fl ow of $19 billion; industrial cash from operating activities growth of 15%
• Dividend increase of 11%, 32nd straight annual increase
• $25.4 billion returned to investors through the dividend and stock buyback
• One of fi ve “Triple-A”-rated U.S. industrial companies

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In a challenging global environment, people want to know one thing: What makes GE different?

What makes us different is the totality of the Company. It’s not any one industry, one business, one year of performance, or one leader. It is our ability to invest and deliver. Every day. Every year. Every decade.

It is the combination of a few simple truths that together describe the power of one GE:

• We are a company positioned to win in the essential themes of this era using scale to meet the needs of people and societies around the world.
• We are a leadership company building diverse and robust businesses that can perform through any cycle.
• We are a high-performance company with the breadth to spread ideas to drive superior organic growth, margins, cash flow, and returns.
• We develop great leaders with the experience, passion for learning, and ability to deliver in all environments.

How do big companies grow? We must invest in trends that are essential in the development of the global economy.

In the future, there will be billions of people with the spending power that Americans have today. The pace of technical innovation, government regulation, and digital connections will accelerate. This will require more of GE’s products and services than at any other time in our history.

The future will be shaped by six essential themes: A massive investment in infrastructure technology, the rise of emerging markets, a demand for environmental solutions, expanding demographics, the transforming power of digital connections, and opportunities in origination.

GE is already winning in these themes. Each requires the scale, breadth, and depth that only GE can bring. We will be a part of creating the future.

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