It was growth, growth and more growth. Adjusted for splits, GE stock rose from $1.30/share to $46.75/share during the 20 year Welch leadership. He has dismantled the entire financial services and real estate businesses that created tremendous GE value, because he could not figure out how to operate in a more regulated environment. Under Immelt GE has focused on profits. By focusing on the "core" GE business (as defined by Immelt,) and pursuing short term profit maximization, leadership significantly damaged GE.

Source: Forbes March 28, 2017 22:18 UTC