GE Aerospace Soars to New Heights as Legacy Conglomerate Fades

General Electric's storied history as an industrial titan has given way to a leaner future. The once-dominant conglomerate, which spanned industries from nuclear energy to television broadcasting, completed its three-way split in 2021. GE Aerospace now carries the original ticker (GE) and has delivered staggering 766% returns over five years - hitting a 25-year high this week.

The fall of the GE empire reads like a corporate tragedy. Overexpansion into financial services nearly capsized the company during the 2008 crisis, exposing fatal flaws in the Jack Welch-era growth model. What remains is a cautionary tale about the perils of unchecked diversification.

Investors now face a fundamentally different proposition. The reborn GE focuses solely on aerospace, while spin-offs GE Vernova (GEV) and GE HealthCare (GEHC) tackle energy and medical technology respectively. Market sentiment clearly favors the aerospace segment, though all three entities carry forward pieces of a fractured legacy.