General Electric (GE -3.19%) has been heavily impacted by the coronavirus pandemic through several of its businesses. Shares are down 37% since the start of 2020, and its segments including aviation and energy continue to struggle.
But Joe Ritchie, and analyst at Goldman Sachs, thinks the work the company has been doing to become more efficient is paying off, and believes shares are worth $10, representing a 50% gain from Thursday's closing price.
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In its latest earnings release, for the period ending June 30, 2020, GE reported that its total orders were down 38% and revenue was down 24% compared with the 2019 quarter. In addition, the cash flow it reported was negative $2.1 billion.
CEO Larry Culp struck an optimistic tone, however. He said the company's cash flow was better than expected, and based on actions already taken, "sequential improvement in earnings and cash in the second half of the year is achievable."
Those actions included cost savings and cash preservation measures. The company also raised capital to improve liquidity, and reduced debt by selling businesses, including its biopharma and lighting units. The company also extended Culp's contract by two more years to continue the turnaround strategy.
Ritchie said the moves created a "leaner, structurally more productive company with better capital discipline." Though he acknowledged that the negative cash flow could total $3.2 billion for 2020, he said he believes it will improve "materially" as the recovery in its higher-margin businesses progresses.
