--- description: The company’s strategy of simplifying its business model looks to be working out title: GE Profits Up 13% As Company Continues to Refocus image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3208f29a295d51d0/69869c4713c79f9cd9193253/general-electric-2.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # GE Profits Up 13% As Company Continues to Refocus  by [Denver Nicks](/author/denver-nicks/)  ## Denver Nicks Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 18, 2014 11:55 AM CUT  Workers assemble a General Electric Co. CF6-80C2 jet engine at the GE Aviation factory in Cincinnati, Ohio, June 25, 2014. Workers assemble a General Electric Co. CF6-80C2 jet engine at the GE Aviation factory in Cincinnati, Ohio, June 25, 2014.Bloomberg/Getty Images  by [Denver Nicks](/author/denver-nicks/)  ## Denver Nicks Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 18, 2014 11:55 AM CUT General Electric profits [climbed](http://www.genewsroom.com//Press-Releases/GE-Reports-2Q14-Operating-EPS-039-8-2Q-Industrial-Organic-Revenues-5-Segment-Profit-9-2Q-Operating-Margins-Up-20-Basis-Points-Backlog-of-246B-Up-23B-from-Year-Ago-Retail-Finance-IPO-Targeted-for-End-of-July-Total-Year-Framework-97509 "undefined") 13% in the second quarter as the conglomerate refocuses on its core businesses of energy and heavy industry. GE’s posted earnings of 35 cents a share ($3.55 billion) are up from 31 cents a share a year ago. Operating earnings climbed from 36 cents a share to 39 cents a share. “GE had a good performance in the quarter and in the first half of 2014, with double-digit industrial segment profit growth, 30 basis points of margin expansion, and nearly $6 billion returned to shareholders,” said GE Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt in a statement. “The environment continues to be generally positive.” The news signals the success of GE’s strategy of shedding non-core businesses, like the media giant NBCUniversal, and doubling down on its energy and industrial portfolio. Last quarter, the French engineering titan Alstom agreed to sell its Power and Grid business that builds and services power plants and transmission grids. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3004630/general-electric-profit-earnings-report/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3004630/general-electric-profit-earnings-report/"},"headline":"GE Profits Up 13% As Company Continues to Refocus","datePublished":"2014-07-18T11:55:13.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T09:13:25.007Z","description":"The company’s strategy of simplifying its business model looks to be working out","url":"https://time.com/3004630/general-electric-profit-earnings-report/","keywords":["Economy","Earnings","Report","GE","Profits"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3208f29a295d51d0/69869c4713c79f9cd9193253/general-electric-2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Denver Nicks","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/denver-nicks/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3208f29a295d51d0/69869c4713c79f9cd9193253/general-electric-2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Workers assemble a General Electric Co. CF6-80C2 jet engine at the GE Aviation factory in Cincinnati, Ohio, June 25, 2014.","caption":"Workers assemble a General Electric Co. CF6-80C2 jet engine at the GE Aviation factory in Cincinnati, Ohio, June 25, 2014.","creditText":"Bloomberg/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3004630/general-electric-profit-earnings-report/","name":"GE Profits Up 13% As Company Continues to Refocus"}}]}] ```