2001年，當45歲的杰夫·伊梅爾特成為通用電氣（General Electric）的首席執行官時，投資者都懷疑他能否達到他的前任、“美國企業高管界的邁克爾·喬丹”——杰克·韋爾奇的高度。

這點很難確定，不過從數據上看，投資者確實認為伊梅爾特表現不佳：根據彭博社的數據，通用電氣在2001年9月7日伊梅爾特上任時，市值超過1,500億美元，而他接手以來，通用電氣的股價已經下滑了近30%。而任職近16年的伊梅爾特即將在今年8月1日卸任的消息傳出之后，通用電氣的股價在周一的交易日上揚了接近4%。

盡管伊梅爾特帶領著通用電氣渡過了一些最艱難的時刻，9·11事件和金融危機都發生在他的任期內，但我們也很難忽略這16年里標普500指數顯示的股市整體價格上漲124%，而公司股價卻反而出現下滑的事實。類似的，標普500工業指數同期也上漲了134%。實際上，伊梅爾特接手以來，通用電氣是道瓊斯平均指數（Dow）上表現最糟糕的公司。

而與被譽為同期最佳首席執行官之一的韋爾奇相比時，伊梅爾特的數據就顯得更加遜色。韋爾奇在1981年成為通用電氣首席執行官時，與他一樣也是45歲。不過與他不同的是，韋爾奇并未大刀闊斧進行“史詩般”的動作。盡管通用電氣被看作是《財富》500強里管理最為出色的工業公司，但業界也認為公司的表現會大體符合市場走勢，很難跑在前面。不過韋爾奇超出了他們的預期。

這位前任首席執行官在自動化上大力投資，并在頭五年的任期內減少了10萬個崗位。執掌公司20年間，通用電氣的股價上漲了2,790%，超出了標普500指數的整體上漲值710%。而在此期間，通用電氣的市值猛漲3,870億美元，達到3,940億美元。在《財富》500強榜單上，通用電氣的排名也從1981年的第10名提高到2001年的第5名，收入上漲361%達到1,257億美元。（如今，通用電氣的排名是第13名。）

通用電氣在不同首席執行官管理下的業績

通用電氣在杰克·韋爾奇的執掌下欣欣向榮，卻在杰夫·伊梅爾特的領導下出現衰退。

首席執行官 公司股市表現 標普500市場整體表現 市值變化 收入變化

1 杰克·韋爾奇 2,790.70% 710% 3,870億美元 361%

2 杰夫·伊梅爾特 -29.6% 124% -1,514億美元 -5%

杰克·韋爾奇的數據從1981年4月1日起算，截至2001年9月6日；杰夫·伊梅爾特的數據從2001年9月7日起算，截至2017年6月9日。韋爾奇任期內的公司收入變化來源于1981年和2001年的數據，伊梅爾特任期內的公司收入變化來源于2001年和2016年的數據。

來源：彭博社數據

然而，韋爾奇對通用電氣的金融服務公司通用資本（GE Capital）的依賴，最終也導致公司在伊梅爾特的任期內只有中流的表現。2008年，通用資本給公司貢獻了42%的收入。在金融危機期間，通用資本幾乎讓通用電氣崩潰，在股東的壓力之下，公司削減了通用資本的規模，到2016年，它對公司的收入貢獻只有大約8.8%。

在職權交接的2001年，通用電氣的凈利潤為136億美元，利潤率為10.9%。2016年，通用電氣的凈利潤減少到92億美元，利潤率為7.7%。（財富中文網）

譯者：嚴匡正

When then 45-year-old Jeff Immelt was named CEO of General Electric (GE, -1.55%) in 2001, investors couldn't help but wonder how he would measure up against the "Michael Jordan of American business execs," his predecessor Jack Welch.

It's hard to say for sure, but when it comes to numbers, investors think that Immelt has fallen short: Shares of GE have plunged nearly 30% since he took the helm, with the company shedding more than $150 billion in market cap since Immelt's first day on the job on Sept. 7, 2001, according to Bloomberg data. Though GE's stock jumped nearly 4% in trading Monday on the news that Immelt would step down effective Aug. 1, after some 16 years as CEO.

While a case can be made that Immelt steered GE some of its most difficult hours, with the Sept. 11 attacks and financial crisis both occurring during his tenure, it's hard to ignore that while GE's share fell in his 16 year term, the stock market as measured by the S&P 500 has risen nearly 124%. Similarly, GE's cohorts on the S&P 500 Industrials Sector have risen 134% in the same period. In fact, GE's stock has been the worst performing on the Dow since Immelt took over.

His performance, numbers wise, looks even more lackluster when compared to Welch, his predecessor who has been hailed as one of the best CEOs of his time. Like Immelt, Welch was 45 when he assumed the chief executive role in 1981. But unlike Immelt, Welch wasn't following up an "epic" act. While that same year the company was considered the best-managed industrial company on the Fortune 500, GE was also expected to perform in-line with the economy and rarely above it. Welch defied those expectations.

The former CEO invested heavily in automation, in addition to slashing 100,000 jobs within his first five years. Over the course of his 20-year-run at the helm of the company, shares of GE jumped 2,790%, outperforming the S&P 500's 710% upswing. And between the time when Welch took on the mantle of CEO and when he retired, GE's market capitalization soared by $387 billion to $394 billion. On the Fortune 500, GE's rank jumped from 10th in 1981 to fifth in 2001 after revenue rose 361% to $125.7 billion. (Today, GE is ranked 13th.)

General Electric's Performance Under Different Chief Executives

While General Electric under Jack Welch soared, it shrank under Jeff Immelt.

CEO GE STOCK PERFORMANCE S&P 500 MARKET CAP CHANGE ($ BIL) REVENUE CHANGE

1 Jack Welch 2,790.70% 710% $387b 361%

2 Jeff Immelt -29.6% 124% -$151.4b -5%

Jack Welch figures based on data between 4/1/81 to 9/6/01. Jeff Immelt figures based on data between 9/7/01 to 6/9/17. Revenue for Welch based on annual data from 1981 and 2001. Immelt's revenue data is based on annual figures from 2001 and 2016.

Source: Bloomberg data

Still, Welch's dependence on the GE's financial services company, GE Capital, eventually helped contribute to the company's middling stock performance during Immelt's tenure. GE Capital made up about 42% of the company's revenue in 2008. Amid pressure from shareholders to pare down the business after it nearly took down GE during the financial crisis, GE Capital in 2016 represented about 8.8% of the company's revenue.

In the year that Welch handed the reins over to Immelt, GE posted net income of $13.6 billion, or a margin of 10.9%. In 2016, GE's profits had shrunk to $9.2 billion on profit margin of 7.7%.