This Company Engineered its Own Destruction

Описание: General Electric was the "Gold Standard" of management. Then, the reality hit.

For decades, GE was the most valuable company on the planet. Under Jack Welch, it was a "perfect machine" that never missed an earnings call. But that perfection was built on a foundation of shifting sand.

In this video, we trace the history of GE from its industrial roots in jet engines and power turbines to its dangerous transformation into a "bank in disguise." We look at the $400 billion collapse, the desperate lifelines from Warren Buffett, and the eventual decision to break the company into three pieces.

If you want to understand how "narrative risk" and financial engineering can destroy a legacy, this is the story you need to hear.

Key Chapters:
The Welch Era: $400 Billion and the Myth of Perfection.
The Rise of GE Capital: When an industrial giant becomes a bank.
The 2008 Crisis: The moment the credit froze.
The Immelt Era: Wrong bets on Gas and Power.
The Overview: Healthcare, Vernova, and Aerospace.

#generalelectric #investing #businesshistory #stockmarket

Timestamps:-
00:00 – The Most Trusted Company in America
GE’s unmatched reputation, dominance, and why everyone believed it was unstoppable.

00:50 – The Jack Welch Era and the Illusion of Perfection
How Welch built GE into Wall Street’s favorite through discipline, restructuring, and smooth earnings.

01:38 – The Quiet Shift That Changed GE Forever
GE’s move from industrial roots into finance with the rise of GE Capital.

02:26 – When Making Money From Money Took Over
How GE Capital boosted profits while hiding growing systemic risk.

02:48 – Jeff Immelt Inherits an Impossible Company
Sky-high expectations, rich valuations, and dependence on financial markets.

03:27 – Cracks Begin to Appear
Post-9/11 slowdown, weakening industrial demand, and reliance on finance to mask problems.

03:58 – The Financial Crisis Exposes the Truth
GE Capital’s funding risk, credit market freeze, and near-bank style collapse.

04:37 – Emergency Lifelines and Loss of Trust
Government support, Buffett’s investment, and investor confidence breaking.

05:05 – The Slow and Costly Attempt to Pivot
Shrinking GE Capital, refocusing on industry, and execution failures.

05:24 – The Power Business Bet That Went Wrong
Gas turbines, renewables disruption, and GE Power becoming a liability.

05:50 – The Long Stock Decline and Investor Anger
Falling market value, rising debt concerns, and growing criticism of leadership.

06:15 – A Cultural Problem, Not Just a CEO Problem
Earnings pressure, delayed bad news, and hidden risks inside GE.

06:44 – Survival Replaces Growth
Leadership changes, asset sales, cost cutting, and damage to core businesses.

07:13 – Admitting the Conglomerate Model Failed
Why GE could no longer manage everything under one roof.

07:24 – The Historic Breakup of General Electric
Spin-offs into Healthcare, Energy (Vernova), and Aviation.

07:52 – How an Icon Lost Its Soul
Financial engineering, complexity, and narrative replacing fundamentals.

08:23 – Three Core Lessons From GE’s Collapse
Identity drift, perfection pressure, and the weakness of over-diversification.

08:41 – A Question Every Investor and Founder Must Ask
Does success survive when conditions turn against you?

09:04 – Narrative Risk and Market Blindness
How admiration and smooth numbers hide fragility.

09:23 – From Global Champion to Cautionary Tale
How decades of small compromises led to collapse.

09:31 – Practical Investing Lessons From GE
Earnings quality, profit sources, leadership response, and timing mistakes.

10:01 – GE Today and the Final Warning
Why GE isn’t pure failure, and the ultimate lesson about reality catching up.