NEW YORK — General Electric yesterday fell the most since 2011 after a first-quarter slide in its Power & Water business pulled total industrial earnings down 11 percent.
Profit at GE’s manufacturing businesses fell to $2.94 billion as sales slid 5.7 percent to $22.7 billion. The decline was led by a 39 percent drop in earnings at the power and water unit, which makes products including gas-powered and wind turbines.
“Europe was weaker than we expected, and in particular the power and water and oil and gas businesses were very soft,” said Nick Heymann, an analyst at William Blair & Co. who has a market-perform rating on the stock
GE’s 4.1 percent drop to $21.75 was its largest decline since November 2011. The shares had gained 8 percent this year.