Electrical Industry

Spotty as is the industrial-outlook, and various as is the opinion of industrial leaders as to prosperity for 1924, almost everyone has been impressed by the showing of the leading electrical equipment companies during the past few years.

To date, neither General Electric nor Westinghouse have issued their annual reports for 1923, yet it is widely believed that in gross business and also in net profits both companies are likely to establish records. The growth of these two leading companies has been symptomatic of the electrical industry. Even in 1921, General Electric earned $15.90 per share, while in Westinghouse's worst year since the War, 1921-1922, earnings were $3.89 per share. Engineers regard the electrical industry still in its infancy. In the next decade, the building of "superpower" plants is confidently predicted, requiring vast amounts of electrical equipment. Furthermore, electrification of our huge railway system has already begun, and in a period of lower construction costs will probably make rapid progress.

Lastly, the sudden and surprising development of the radio industry shows the huge field for popular electrical equipment; it has of course contributed to the prosperity of both General Electric and Westingliouse. Yet only about 6% of the latter's gross business has resulted from the radio industry, while the corresponding proportion of General Electric's gross is probably even smaller.