Larry Culp turnaround: How the GE CEO engineered a $689 bn revival

Larry Culp turnaround: the data behind GE’s rebirth

When Larry Culp assumed the chief executive seat in early 2018, GE’s market cap lingered at ↓ $96 bn, a shadow of its $600 bn peak. Within six years, the conglomerate emerged as three separate entities whose combined valuation now exceeds ↑ $689 bn, positioning the group among America’s largest industrial firms. Culp’s first move was to slice the $150 bn debt burden by selling non‑core assets and tightening capital allocation. He then imposed Danaher‑style “lean” principles across the sprawling organization, installing kaizen workshops on factory floors from Lynn, Mass., to Crotonville, N.Y. Front‑line metrics replaced opaque corporate dashboards, forcing each unit to own its profit‑and‑loss sheet. Result: GE’s aerospace arm posted a 19% revenue jump to $45.9 bn in 2025, while profit margins climbed to 21.4%.

“I was sure GE would file for Chapter 11. Then Larry arrived and performed the most amazing rescue I’ve ever witnessed,”

noted activist investor Nelson Peltz, citing the swift recovery of the jet‑engine business. The 2023 spinoff of GE HealthCare and the 2024 separation of GE Vernova and GE Aerospace completed the strategic unbundling, allowing each franchise to pursue dedicated customers without the drag of cross‑segment synergies. Analysts at Reuters and Bloomberg credit the turnaround to Culp’s insistence on transparent KPIs, aggressive headcount reductions—eliminating roughly three‑quarters of excess staff—and a relentless focus on supply‑chain discipline. The result is a leaner, more profitable GE poised to capitalize on post‑COVID air‑travel recovery and a surge in demand for power‑generation equipment linked to AI data‑center expansion.