GE · Forward model · Bull case
The Bull case, 20 quarters out
Model as of
Each segment is projected from its own operating driver, rolled up into consolidated cash flow, and discounted back to a fair value per share. The assumptions below are editable — change them and every number on this page moves with them.
BASIS. This is the hardest thing about GE. General Electric Company spun off GE HealthCare on 3 January 2023 and GE Vernova on 2 April 2024, and current filings present both as discontinued operations. That means two different revenue histories exist for the same quarters: as originally reported, and as recast. Everything here - revenue, EPS, cash flow, margins, and the series on the stock page this model sits behind - is CONTINUING OPERATIONS, GE Aerospace standalone, as recast in the most recent filings. On that basis 2026 Q2 revenue was $13,349m and continuing-operations diluted EPS $2.30. Mixing an as-originally-reported quarter into this series would not look like a rounding error; it would look like a company that shrank by two thirds. FREE CASH FLOW. GE publishes its own non-GAAP free cash flow, $3,027m in the basis quarter, which adds back PP&E disposals, separation cash expenditures and Corporate & Other restructuring cash expenditures. The stock page does not use it. The repository standard is operating cash flow less gross additions to property, plant and equipment: $3,258m less $335m, or $2,923m - $104m (3.4%) below GE's figure, and roughly $0.3-$0.4bn below it on the guided full year. Separately, the FCF line inside THIS model is the projection engine's own construction, EBITDA less capex less tax, so it carries no working capital and no cash interest and should not be read against either of the other two. SEGMENT HISTORY. Two quarters, and that is a disclosure limit rather than a shortcut. Effective 2026 GE moved its Aeroderivative business from CES to DPT and recast only the quarters it has since restated - 2025 Q1, 2025 Q2, 2026 Q1 and 2026 Q2. The recast is material: 2025 Q2 CES went from $7,990m as printed to $7,646m, and DPT from $2,563m to $2,978m. No recast for 2025 Q3 or 2025 Q4 exists in any filing, 8-K or investor document, and the engine requires contiguous history, so the series starts where the current definition starts. It will extend itself as the 2026 Q3 and Q4 filings restate those quarters. The only estimated point in the model is Eliminations & Other for 2026 Q1: GE prints $(519)m, which makes its own segment subtotal foot to $11,615m against the $11,614m it prints elsewhere, so the model uses $(520)m - the exact residual of the disclosed $12,392m GAAP total less the three other disclosed lines. SEASONALITY. None applied, and that is a finding. A centred four-quarter moving average over the fourteen-quarter continuing-operations revenue series does produce a seasonal-looking shape (factors 0.95 / 0.97 / 1.03 / 1.04, signal 0.094 against a worst window spread of 0.037). But a log-linear detrend of the same series - which removes the 3.75%-a-quarter exponential trend exactly rather than locally - gives signal 0.087 against a worst within-quarter spread of 0.108, which is no seasonality at all. The two disagree because the line has accelerated for four straight years, and an accelerating line looks back-half weighted to any moving average. Both external anchors settle it: GE's raised guide implies second-half adjusted revenue only about 7% above the first half, and Street consensus for 2026 Q3 adjusted revenue of $12.29bn is BELOW the $12.63bn just reported. Neither is consistent with a 5% third- and fourth-quarter lift, so the deceleration is carried by the growth rate, where the evidence is. WHAT IS DISCLOSED AND WHAT IS NOT. Every revenue actual is disclosed. Segment EBITDA margins are derived: GE's own guided full-year 2026 segment operating margins plus a depreciation and amortisation allowance taken from the disclosed $625m of first-half company D&A. The Insurance margin (23.9%) and the Eliminations margin (33.0%) are disclosed ratios - $171m over $715m and $(178)m over $(540)m - not judgements. Corporate overhead of 1.1% of revenue is derived so the model reproduces GE's guided $(1.2)-$(1.3)bn Corporate Cost & Eliminations after the eliminations vertical carries its half. The 15% tax rate is rounded up from a 13.2% first-half actual. Long-run growth rates, terminal margins, the 8.5% discount rate and the 20x exit multiple are assumptions. WHERE THE MODEL DISAGREES WITH THE STREET. The base case projects 2026 Q3 GAAP revenue of $13,550m, which is $12,867m of adjusted revenue - about 4.7% above the $12.29bn consensus for that quarter, and 11.2% above the year-ago quarter. The model sides with GE's disclosed order book and supplier input rather than with a consensus that was 8.6% too low on the quarter just reported. TERMINAL CONCENTRATION. 83.0% of base-case enterprise value sits in the terminal value, so the exit multiple deserves more scrutiny than any operating assumption: each 1x is $10.74 a share, and 28.0x is what would justify today's price on the base path.
The guided second-half deceleration does not happen. GE guided low double digits for 2026 as recently as January and delivered 27% adjusted revenue growth in the first half; it beat the Street's adjusted revenue by 6.5% and adjusted EPS by 8.6% in the very quarter it raised guidance. First-half CES services revenue grew 32%, and the LEAP-1B durability kit is certified with roughly double the time-on-wing and full cutover from the beginning of 2027, which raises the value of each shop visit and lengthens the annuity behind it. Add 1.2 points a quarter of growth and 1.2 points of margin, exit at 25x, and fair value is $394.49 - 17.5% above the traded price. What this case does NOT reach is the tape's implied 28.0x exit on the base path: even here the multiple has to stay a full turn above the aerospace peer band.
Latest: $22.00B (2031Q2E)
| Period | Value |
|---|---|
| 2026Q1 | $12.39B |
| 2026Q2 | $13.35B |
| 2026Q3E | $13.71B |
| 2026Q4E | $14.08B |
| 2027Q1E | $14.46B |
| 2027Q2E | $14.84B |
| 2027Q3E | $15.22B |
| 2027Q4E | $15.61B |
| 2028Q1E | $16.01B |
| 2028Q2E | $16.42B |
| 2028Q3E | $16.83B |
| 2028Q4E | $17.26B |
| 2029Q1E | $17.69B |
| 2029Q2E | $18.13B |
| 2029Q3E | $18.57B |
| 2029Q4E | $19.03B |
| 2030Q1E | $19.50B |
| 2030Q2E | $19.98B |
| 2030Q3E | $20.46B |
| 2030Q4E | $20.96B |
| 2031Q1E | $21.47B |
| 2031Q2E | $22.00B |
What drives each segment
Commercial Engines & Services
Growth pathEngines are sold thin and maintained fat. CES puts LEAP, GEnx, GE9X and CF6 engines on aircraft and then earns decades of shop visits and spare parts on an installed base of roughly 50,000 commercial engines. Services were $7,434m of the $9,731m segment total in the basis quarter and grew 26%, while equipment grew 30% on much lower margin - so the segment's margin moves with the equipment-to-services mix, not with demand.
Latest: $16.99B (2031Q2E)
| Period | Value |
|---|---|
| 2026Q1 | $8.92B |
| 2026Q2 | $9.73B |
| 2026Q3E | $10.04B |
| 2026Q4E | $10.36B |
| 2027Q1E | $10.68B |
| 2027Q2E | $11.01B |
| 2027Q3E | $11.33B |
| 2027Q4E | $11.67B |
| 2028Q1E | $12.00B |
| 2028Q2E | $12.35B |
| 2028Q3E | $12.69B |
| 2028Q4E | $13.05B |
| 2029Q1E | $13.41B |
| 2029Q2E | $13.78B |
| 2029Q3E | $14.15B |
| 2029Q4E | $14.53B |
| 2030Q1E | $14.92B |
| 2030Q2E | $15.32B |
| 2030Q3E | $15.72B |
| 2030Q4E | $16.14B |
| 2031Q1E | $16.56B |
| 2031Q2E | $16.99B |
Assumptions & reasoning
- EBITDA margin is GE's own guided full-year 2026 CES operating margin of about 26.6% ($10.30bn midpoint on model revenue of $38.7bn; first-half actual 26.9%) plus about 2.6% of revenue for depreciation and amortisation, derived from first-half company D&A of $625m ($452m of PP&E depreciation plus $173m of intangible amortisation). It is deliberately NOT the single 27.3% second-quarter print, which was above the guided year.
- History is two quarters, and that is a disclosure limit rather than a shortcut. Effective 2026 GE moved its Aeroderivative business from CES to DPT and recast only the quarters it has since restated: the 2025 Q2 release printed CES at $7,990m, the 2026 Q2 release prints the same quarter at $7,646m. Recast 2025 Q3 and 2025 Q4 do not exist in any filing, so the series starts where the current definition starts.
- Margin fell 160 basis points year on year even in a 27% growth quarter, because install engine growth including GE9X is dilutive. A good quarter for volume is a bad quarter for mix, which is why the terminal margin only recovers to 30.8%.
Defense & Propulsion Technologies
Growth pathMilitary propulsion and Avio Aero: F110, F404, F414, T700 and T901 engines, next-generation adaptive-cycle programmes such as the XA102 and GE426, and the Aeroderivative business moved in from CES for 2026. Contract-priced and budget-paced rather than fleet-paced, it runs at roughly half the CES operating margin and grew 16% in the basis quarter against CES's 27%.
Latest: $5.50B (2031Q2E)
| Period | Value |
|---|---|
| 2026Q1 | $3.21B |
| 2026Q2 | $3.44B |
| 2026Q3E | $3.53B |
| 2026Q4E | $3.62B |
| 2027Q1E | $3.72B |
| 2027Q2E | $3.81B |
| 2027Q3E | $3.90B |
| 2027Q4E | $4.00B |
| 2028Q1E | $4.09B |
| 2028Q2E | $4.19B |
| 2028Q3E | $4.29B |
| 2028Q4E | $4.39B |
| 2029Q1E | $4.49B |
| 2029Q2E | $4.59B |
| 2029Q3E | $4.70B |
| 2029Q4E | $4.81B |
| 2030Q1E | $4.92B |
| 2030Q2E | $5.03B |
| 2030Q3E | $5.14B |
| 2030Q4E | $5.26B |
| 2031Q1E | $5.38B |
| 2031Q2E | $5.50B |
Assumptions & reasoning
- EBITDA margin is GE's guided full-year 2026 DPT operating profit of $1.65bn midpoint on model revenue of $13.7bn - about 12.1%, against a first-half actual of 12.8% - plus about 1.5% of revenue for depreciation and amortisation. The guided year is below the 13.8% second-quarter print because the fourth quarter has been the weak one: DPT margin was 8.9% in 2025 Q4 against 13.6% in 2025 Q3.
- Propulsion & Additive Technologies revenue rose 23% in the basis quarter on Avio Aero while Defense & Systems rose 12%, so the growth is in the smaller half of the segment and it is the half GE has just enlarged.
- Same two-quarter history limit as CES and for the same reason: the Aeroderivative transfer redefined this segment for 2026 and GE has never recast 2025 Q3 or Q4. The recast lifted 2025 Q2 DPT from $2,563m to $2,978m, a 16% difference, so splicing the old series in would be a basis error.
Insurance (run-off)
Growth pathA closed long-term care and structured settlement reinsurance book GE has written no new business in for decades and excludes from its own adjusted revenue. It is not an operating business; it is a liability that still passes revenue and a little profit through the income statement while it shrinks. It has to be modelled because GAAP total revenue - the basis of every series on this site - includes it.
Latest: $422M (2031Q2E)
| Period | Value |
|---|---|
| 2026Q1 | $778M |
| 2026Q2 | $715M |
| 2026Q3E | $691M |
| 2026Q4E | $669M |
| 2027Q1E | $648M |
| 2027Q2E | $628M |
| 2027Q3E | $610M |
| 2027Q4E | $593M |
| 2028Q1E | $576M |
| 2028Q2E | $561M |
| 2028Q3E | $546M |
| 2028Q4E | $532M |
| 2029Q1E | $519M |
| 2029Q2E | $506M |
| 2029Q3E | $494M |
| 2029Q4E | $483M |
| 2030Q1E | $471M |
| 2030Q2E | $461M |
| 2030Q3E | $450M |
| 2030Q4E | $440M |
| 2031Q1E | $431M |
| 2031Q2E | $422M |
Assumptions & reasoning
- The 23.9% EBITDA margin is not an estimate: it is the disclosed Insurance profit of $171m over the disclosed Insurance revenue of $715m in the basis quarter. It is held flat because a closed book's margin is set by reserve development, not by operations, and GE gives no forward view of it.
- Capex is exactly zero. A run-off insurance book buys no property, plant or equipment, and GE excludes this line from operating profit altogether - which is why the model's operating-profit cross-check against guidance strips it out again.
- This line is shrinking about 18% a year and quietly subtracts roughly half a point from consolidated revenue growth every year, which is precisely why GE reports adjusted revenue without it and why consensus comparisons must strip it out too.
Eliminations & Other
Growth pathThe negative reconciling line between segment revenue and consolidated revenue: intersegment sales, principally engines and parts moving between CES and DPT, plus items GE does not attribute to a segment. It exists so the four verticals sum exactly to GAAP total revenue, and it scales with intersegment volume, so it deepens as the segments grow.
Latest: -$917M (2031Q2E)
| Period | Value |
|---|---|
| 2026Q1 | -$520M |
| 2026Q2 | -$540M |
| 2026Q3E | -$556M |
| 2026Q4E | -$573M |
| 2027Q1E | -$589M |
| 2027Q2E | -$606M |
| 2027Q3E | -$623M |
| 2027Q4E | -$641M |
| 2028Q1E | -$658M |
| 2028Q2E | -$676M |
| 2028Q3E | -$694M |
| 2028Q4E | -$712M |
| 2029Q1E | -$731M |
| 2029Q2E | -$750M |
| 2029Q3E | -$770M |
| 2029Q4E | -$789M |
| 2030Q1E | -$810M |
| 2030Q2E | -$830M |
| 2030Q3E | -$851M |
| 2030Q4E | -$872M |
| 2031Q1E | -$894M |
| 2031Q2E | -$917M |
Assumptions & reasoning
- The 33.0% EBITDA margin is the disclosed ratio of eliminations profit to eliminations revenue: $(178)m over $(540)m in the basis quarter. Both are negative, so the product is a negative EBITDA of $(178)m - exactly the eliminations cost GE reports. It is not an operating margin and should not be read as one.
- 2026 Q1 is the only estimated point in this model. GE prints Eliminations & Other of $(519)m for that quarter, which makes its own segment subtotal foot to $11,615m against the $11,614m adjusted revenue it prints one page later. The model uses $(520)m, the residual of the disclosed $12,392m GAAP total less CES $8,920m, DPT $3,214m and Insurance $778m, so the four lines reconcile exactly. The $1m difference is rounding in GE's table.
- Capex is exactly zero, because a reconciliation buys nothing. Everything the company spends sits in the CES and DPT capex intensities.
Where each case comes from
Bear case — primary sources
The primary sources this case is built from — filings, calls and posts. Where they are claims by an interested party rather than disclosures, every number in the Bear column is what happens if they are taken at face value.
Second quarter 2026 results
- Jul 16, 2026 market or other developments that may affect demand or the financial strength and performance of airframers, airlines, suppliers and other key aerospace industry participants, such as demand for air travel, supply chain or other production constraints, shifts in U.S. or foreign government defense programs and other industry dynamics
- Jul 16, 2026 Operating profit/(loss) margin 27.3 % 28.9 % (160) bps 26.9 % 28.8 % (190) bps
Base case — primary sources
The primary sources this case is built from — filings, calls and posts. Where they are claims by an interested party rather than disclosures, every number in the Base column is what happens if they are taken at face value.
Second quarter 2026 results
- Jul 16, 2026 Based on GE Aerospace's performance in the first half of 2026 and expectations for the remainder of the year, the company is raising guidance across the board
- Jul 16, 2026 In 2026, CES now expects revenue growth of ~20%, up from our prior outlook of mid-teens, driven by higher services revenue, which we now expect to grow low 20s, up from mid-teens, and equipment revenue growth of ~20%, up from mid-to-high teens.
Bull case — primary sources
The primary sources this case is built from — filings, calls and posts. Where they are claims by an interested party rather than disclosures, every number in the Bull column is what happens if they are taken at face value.
Second quarter 2026 results
- Jul 16, 2026 Completed certification for the LEAP-1B durability kit, including the upgraded HPT blade, which is expected to deliver ~2x improvement in time-on-wing, with full cutover expected beginning of 2027.
- Jul 16, 2026 GE Aerospace delivered a strong second quarter with revenue and EPS both up more than 20% driven by robust commercial services growth.
How far the guide sat below the print
Culp case — primary sources
The primary sources this case is built from — filings, calls and posts. Where they are claims by an interested party rather than disclosures, every number in the Culp column is what happens if they are taken at face value.
What Culp says the constraint is
- Jul 16, 2026 Increased material input from priority suppliers double-digits sequentially and year-over-year, contributing to Commercial Engines & Services (CES) services revenue up 32% in the first half of the year, including record internal shop visit output in the quarter.
- Jul 16, 2026 we remain focused on advancing what matters most for our customers: delivering on our over $210 billion backlog while investing in current and next-generation technology to improve time-on-wing and cost of ownership.
From cash flow to fair value
| Present value of free cash flow, 20 quarters | $55.18B |
| Terminal-year revenue | $84.90B |
| Terminal-year EBITDA | $22.11B |
| Exit multiple, on ebitda | 25.0x |
| Terminal value | $552.83B |
| Discounted at 8.5% a year, terminal value becomes | $367.65B |
| Enterprise value | $422.84B |
| Net cash | -$9.81B |
| Equity value | $413.03B |
| Shares | 1.05B |
| Fair value per share | $394.49 |
| Against the deployed price of $335.71, as of | +18% |
An exit EV/EBITDA multiple on the last four projected quarters, discounted at 8.5%. The multiple is the single most sensitive input here: 83.0% of base-case enterprise value sits in the terminal value, and every 1x of exit multiple is worth $10.74 a share. The base case exits at 20x - the middle of the large-cap aerospace band, where RTX trades near 15x, Safran near 18x, TransDigm near 22x and Heico near 30x. That is a deliberate de-rating from the tape: at $335.71 GE's market capitalisation is $348.3bn and its enterprise value about $358bn, roughly 29x model 2026 EBITDA, and running the base case backwards the exit multiple that would justify today's price is 28.0x. The bear case exits at 16x, the bull at 25x and the Culp case at 27x. The revenue path is not where the argument is - it reproduces GE's own guided year to within 0.15% of the top of the operating-profit range - the argument is entirely about what an aftermarket annuity is worth five years out.
Read the other way round: at $335.71 the market is paying 20.8x terminal-year revenue, holding every other assumption on this page fixed. That is the number to argue about.
The projected path
| Quarter | Commercial Engines & Services | Defense & Propulsion Technologies | Insurance (run-off) | Eliminations & Other | Revenue | YoY | EBITDA | Capex | FCF | R40 | PV of FCF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Q3E | $10.04B | $3.53B | $691M | -$556M | $13.71B | — | $3.37B | $348M | $2.57B | — | $2.52B |
| 2026 Q4E | $10.36B | $3.62B | $669M | -$573M | $14.08B | — | $3.48B | $356M | $2.66B | — | $2.55B |
| 2027 Q1E | $10.68B | $3.72B | $648M | -$589M | $14.46B | +17% | $3.59B | $363M | $2.74B | +36 | $2.58B |
| 2027 Q2E | $11.01B | $3.81B | $628M | -$606M | $14.84B | +11% | $3.70B | $371M | $2.83B | +30 | $2.61B |
| 2027 Q3E | $11.33B | $3.90B | $610M | -$623M | $15.22B | +11% | $3.81B | $378M | $2.92B | +30 | $2.64B |
| 2027 Q4E | $11.67B | $4.00B | $593M | -$641M | $15.61B | +11% | $3.93B | $386M | $3.01B | +30 | $2.66B |
| 2028 Q1E | $12.00B | $4.09B | $576M | -$658M | $16.01B | +11% | $4.04B | $394M | $3.10B | +30 | $2.69B |
| 2028 Q2E | $12.35B | $4.19B | $561M | -$676M | $16.42B | +11% | $4.16B | $402M | $3.20B | +30 | $2.71B |
| 2028 Q3E | $12.69B | $4.29B | $546M | -$694M | $16.83B | +11% | $4.28B | $410M | $3.29B | +30 | $2.74B |
| 2028 Q4E | $13.05B | $4.39B | $532M | -$712M | $17.26B | +11% | $4.40B | $419M | $3.39B | +30 | $2.76B |
| 2029 Q1E | $13.41B | $4.49B | $519M | -$731M | $17.69B | +10% | $4.53B | $428M | $3.48B | +30 | $2.78B |
| 2029 Q2E | $13.78B | $4.59B | $506M | -$750M | $18.13B | +10% | $4.65B | $437M | $3.58B | +30 | $2.80B |
| 2029 Q3E | $14.15B | $4.70B | $494M | -$770M | $18.57B | +10% | $4.78B | $446M | $3.68B | +30 | $2.82B |
| 2029 Q4E | $14.53B | $4.81B | $483M | -$789M | $19.03B | +10% | $4.91B | $455M | $3.79B | +30 | $2.84B |
| 2030 Q1E | $14.92B | $4.92B | $471M | -$810M | $19.50B | +10% | $5.04B | $465M | $3.89B | +30 | $2.86B |
| 2030 Q2E | $15.32B | $5.03B | $461M | -$830M | $19.98B | +10% | $5.18B | $475M | $4.00B | +30 | $2.88B |
| 2030 Q3E | $15.72B | $5.14B | $450M | -$851M | $20.46B | +10% | $5.31B | $485M | $4.10B | +30 | $2.90B |
| 2030 Q4E | $16.14B | $5.26B | $440M | -$872M | $20.96B | +10% | $5.45B | $496M | $4.22B | +30 | $2.92B |
| 2031 Q1E | $16.56B | $5.38B | $431M | -$894M | $21.47B | +10% | $5.60B | $507M | $4.33B | +30 | $2.94B |
| 2031 Q2E | $16.99B | $5.50B | $422M | -$917M | $22.00B | +10% | $5.75B | $518M | $4.44B | +30 | $2.96B |
Every row is projected. A year-over-year change is shown only where the quarter it compares against exists — an em dash means there is no comparable quarter, not a flat year.
Model revisions
Assumptions are marked to reality as each quarter prints. Every change is appended here, with the fair value the model produced at the time, so the model's own history stays visible.
| Date | Fair value then | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-01 | $249.51 | Initial model, built on continuing operations as recast after the GE HealthCare and GE Vernova separations. Four verticals - CES, DPT, run-off Insurance and Eliminations & Other - which are GE's own reporting lines and foot exactly to GAAP total revenue in the basis quarter. History is two quarters because GE moved its Aeroderivative business from CES to DPT effective 2026 and has never recast 2025 Q3 or Q4. Base case reproduces the guided year: 2026 adjusted revenue $50,211m against a high-teens guide, and total operating profit $10,734m against a guided $10.55-$10.75bn. |