GE 2014 Annual Report Download - page 39

GE 2014 FORM 10-K 19
ABOUT GENERAL ELECTRIC
ABOUT GENERAL ELECTRIC
OUR BUSINESS AND HOW WE TALK ABOUT IT
We are one of the largest and most diversified infrastructure and financial services corporations in the world. With products
and services ranging from aircraft engines, power generation, oil and gas production equipment, and household appliances to
medical imaging, business and consumer financing and industrial products, we serve customers in approximately 175
countries and employ approximately 305,000 people worldwide. Since our incorporation in 1892, we have developed or
acquired new technologies and services that have considerably broadened and changed the scope of our activities.
We believe that investors will gain a better understanding of our company if they understand how we measure and talk about
our results. Because of the diversity in our businesses, we present our financial statements in a three- column format, which
allows investors to see our industrial operations separately from our financial services operations. We believe that this
provides useful information to investors. When used in this report, unless otherwise indicated by the context, we use the terms
to mean the following:
x General Electric or the Company - the parent company, General Electric Company.
x GE - the adding together of all affiliates other than General Electric Capital Corp., whose continuing operations are
presented on a one-line basis, giving effect to the elimination of transactions among such affiliates. Transactions between
GE and GECC have not been eliminated at the GE level. We present the results of GE in the center columns of our
consolidated statements of earnings, financial position and cash flows. An example of a GE metric is GE cash from
operating activities (GE CFOA).
x General Electric Capital Corporation or GECC or Financial Services – the adding together of all affiliates of GECC,
giving effect to the elimination of transactions among such affiliates. We present the results of GECC in the right- side
columns of our consolidated statements of earnings, financial position and cash flows. It should be noted that GECC is
sometimes referred to as GE Capital or Capital, when not in the context of discussing segment results.
x GE consolidated – the adding together of GE and GECC, giving effect to the elimination of transactions between GE and
GECC. We present the results of GE consolidated in the left side columns of our consolidated statements of earnings,
financial position and cash flows.
x Industrial – GE excluding GECC. We believe that this provides investors with a view as to the results of our industrial
businesses and corporate items. An example of an Industrial metric is Industrial CFOA, which is GE CFOA excluding the
effects of dividends from GECC.
x Industrial segment – the sum of our seven industrial reporting segments shown below, without giving effect to the
elimination of transactions among such segments. We believe that this provides investors with a view as to the results of
our industrial segments, without inter-segment eliminations and corporate items. An example of an industrial segment
metric is industrial segment revenue growth.
x Total segment – the sum of our seven industrial segments and one financial services segment, without giving effect to
the elimination of transactions among such segments. We believe that this provides investors with a view as to the results
of all of our segments, without inter-segment eliminations and corporate items.