Financial Highlights General Electric Company and consolidated affiliates (Dollar amounts in millions; per-share amounts in dollars) J4 1998 1997 Revenues $111,630 $100,469 $90,840 Net earnings 10,717 9,296 8,203 Dividends declared 4,786 4,081 3,535 Per share Net earnings 3.22 2.80 2.46 Dividends declared 1.46 1.25 1.08 GE ongoing operating margin rate (a) 17.8% 16.7% 15.7% (a) "Ongoing operating margin" here and elsewhere in this report excludes unusual charges in 1999 and 1997. Contents 1 Letterto Share Owners 8 Introduction to GE Businesses 10 Business Reports 27 Community Service 28 Board of Directors 30 Management 33 Financial Section 77 Corporate Information This entire Annual Report is printed on recycled paper. To Our Share Owners, Customers and Employees The final year of the century was our finest, as 340,000 GE people around the globe posted the strongest results in the Company's 122-year history. "*Revenues rose 11% to $112 billion, a record. "*Earnings increased 15% to $10.7 billion, the first time GE has broken the $10 billion mark in earnings from operations. "*Earnings per share were up 15%. "*Free cash flow was a strong $11.8 billion, up 17%. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John F Welch, Jr.(center) "*Our ongoing operating margin rate grewto 17.8%, and Vice Chairmen and Executive Officers John D. Opie (left) and a gain of more than a full point from '98 and Dennis D. Dammerman (right)form GE's Corporate Executive Office. the third straight year of more than a full point improvement. Working capital turns hit an all 'We repurchased $1.9 billion in GE stock in 1999, time high of 11.5-an improvement of 2.3 turns. raised the dividend 17% for the second consecu The 80% improvement in this key performance tive year, and proposed a 3-for-1 stock split, the measure over the pastthree years has added fifth split in 17 years, which will take effect after $4 billion to our cash flow. share owner approval in April 2000. "*GE made 134 acquisitions in 1999, worth almost $17 billion. This marks the Company's third year in a row with over 100 acquisitions, totaling over Our share owners--including our $51 billion. active and retired employees who have "*GE was named, for the second consecutive year, $24 billion of GE stock in their savings Fortune magazine's "Most Admired Company plans-were rewarded for this perfor in America." Also for the second straight year, we were named "The World's Most Respected mance. The total return on a share of GE Company" by the FinancialTimes. A Business stock in 1999 was 54%. This followed Weeksurvey named the GE Board of Directors "Best Board," and Time magazine described returns of 41% in 1998, 51% in 1997, 40% GE as "The Company of the Century." in 1996 and 45% in 1995. I Understanding GE The Social Architecture Inthis report, for the firsttime, the CEOs of the top 20 GE's current social architecture began to form in the GE businesses will describe the highlights and, ina few early '80s when we became convinced thatthe only cases, the shortfalls of the year, and their plans forthe way a company like ours could move quickly and suc future. Fourteen of these 20 businesses produced dou cessfully through times of radical change was to use ble-digit earnings increases in 1999: five grew more every mind inthe Company and to involve everyone in than 40%; four between 25-40%; five between 15-25%; the game-to leave no one, and no good idea, out. To three were about flat; three were down. achieve this radical cultural transformation, we devel We never get it all "right" inany year, and probably oped something we called "Work-Out," which is never will, but it is the scale and leading market posi based on the simple premise that those closest to the tions of these businesses, and the quality of the teams work know it best. Over the years there have been that run them, that allow us to have one great year literally hundreds of thousands of Work-Out "town after another. 1999 was an outstanding year-our meetings," where the views and ideas of every best ever-but the past five have been great as well, employee, from every function, inevery business, as have the past 20. For that matter, it's been a great were solicited and turned into action-usually on century. Edison would be pleased. the spot. People saw the value we attached to their We believe annual reports are as much about intellect and their ideas-and as a result, their ideas where we can go as where we have been; and our began to flow intorrents. message to you this year should enable you to look The second facet of the social architecture forward to the brightest of futures for GE inits third involved the cultivation of what we call "boundary century of operation. less" behavior by the removal of every organizational and functional obstacle to the free and unimpeded it's actualIy easy to understand this flow of ideas-inside the Company across every ,omp nV, and to feel confident about operation, and outside the Company from the best thinking in world business. We measured this bound its fiture growth, if you look at its array aryless behavior in our leadership-and rewarded or or.T 'orld-c•ass businesses and grasp removed people based on it. We anonymously survey SA:e ••Do imdamental forces that drive thousands of employees every year to measure our progress and see ifour rhetoric matches their reality. :G•-ts social architecture and its When it does not, we take action. operating system. The combination of involving everyone inthe game and of responding to this flow of ideas and information Much has been said of the difficulty of "under turned GE into what we are today-a learning com standing" GE because of the enormous diversity of its pany. By becoming a learning company, we have taken products and services and the breadth of its global market and geographic diversity, the traditional handi operations. But it's actually easy to understand this cap of multi-business companies, and turned them Company, and to feel confident about its future growth, into a decisive advantage-unlimited access to the ifyou look at its array of world-class businesses and most enormous supply of best ideas, information and grasp the two fundamental forces that drive GE-its intellectual capital the business world has to offer. social architecture and its operating system. 2 Our social architecture-our values-is the how they are implementing the particular initiative software that drives what we call the operating in their own operations. The incredible amount of system of GE. learning that comes from this shared experience expands the initiative and energizes their efforts. The GE Operating System Every Company activity and every Company event The operating system of GE was devised to channel during the year add energy and momentum to the ini and focus this torrent of ideas and information and tiative. In these same quarterly meetings, for example, put itto use through the medium of Company-wide every Business Management Course class at our "initiatives," as well as to track, measure and expand Management Development Institute-50 to 60 of our these initiatives as they take hold and flourish. highest potential leaders-reports back on its three week experience in the field on the best practices they By becoming a learning company, we found from other companies around the world-and have taken market and geographic diver they are brutally honest on how we stack up vis-6-vis sity, the traditional handicap of multi the best they saw. This candid feedback really picks up the pace. business companies, and turned them The same is true for Human Resources reviews. into a decisive advantage-unlimited In April and May, the Corporate Executive Office and access to the most enormous supply of Human Resources leaders go into the field for full-day personnel reviews at each location, where the people best ideas, information and intellectual leading and practicing the initiatives present their capital the business world has to offer. progress, and a clear assessment is made of the capa bilities and the level of intensity of the people involved This operating system is based on an informal in the initiative. We want only the best, the brightest but intense, regular schedule of reviews designed to and the most committed to be in these leadership create momentum for the initiative. It progresses roles, and the focus on talent is relentless. with a drumbeat regularity throughout our business By October, role models-heroes-have emerged year-year after year. in all the businesses, and they are selected to present A typical initiative--Product Services, say, or Six to the 150 Corporate Officers at their annual meeting. Sigma Quality-is launched with passionate intensity This meeting serves as a platform where each busi atthe meeting of our 600 global leaders in January. ness can measure its progress against that of the best A commitment to the initiative is made. Every subse of its peers. quent event in the Company is developed around This takes us full circle to January, when the 600 implementing and expanding the initiative: resources global leaders of our Company meet and focus, once are allocated; high visibility jobs are created; intense again, on the initiatives. The initiative from the prior communications start throughout the businesses; and January usually occupies the entire first day, and the work begins.