Environmental Leader

General Electric’s stock is down 53 percent this year and its consumer-and-industrial business has been a drag on the company’s earnings. However, the company recently withdrew plans to sell or spinoff its consumer and industrials unit, which includes light bulbs and appliances.

The Wall Street Journal reported that it may be a good move for GE because President-elect Barack Obama has said he wants “to ensure energy-efficient lighting for public buildings.” Wall Street Journal writes that Obama’s plans could put GE’s ideas and products to work.

A Credit Suisse research report by Nicole Parent noted that GE is one of the companies best-positioned to benefit from a coming boom in energy efficiency. However, the company still faces competition from Cooper, Philips, Acuity, Hubbell and Schneider. GE’s Lighting represents only 2 percent of its revenues, while Cooper and Philip’s lighting represents as much as 23 percent of its revenue, and represents 85 percent of Acuity’s revenue.

Earlier this month, GE suspended development of its high-efficiency incandescent bulbs and is now placing greater focus and investment on light-emitting diodes and organic light-emitting diodes.

In October 2007, the company dimmed the lights on incandescents as part of a restructuring of its lighting business, which impacted jobs and closed plants.