Shares of General Electric Co. shed 1.0% in afternoon trading Friday, as Chief Executive Larry Culp spoke at the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference. The stock has now slipped 2.8% since closing at a three-year high of $14.35 on May 27. Regarding the aviation business, Culp said, according to a FactSet transcript, that the industrial conglomerate is positioning to be “ready for the snapback” in air travel that is expected, as vaccine rollouts lead to diminished lockdown measures. Meanwhile, Culp said he expects shop visits “to more or less be in line” with the sequential first quarter, but sees a “step down” in margins as GE works through some contract margin reviews. However, Culp said there is no change to the full-year outlook, “that’s really predicated on the second-half recovery,” which he thinks he sees “taking root.” GE’s stock has run up 29.1% year to date, while the SPDR Industrial Select Sector ETF has climbed 18.8% and the S&P 500 has gained 12.5%.
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