You might recognize those words from an iconic speech from the movie "Any Given Sunday," delivered to the team by head coach Tony D'Amato, played by Al Pacino.
"We can climb out of hell," D'Amato says. "One inch, at a time."
Now GE's having to do the same, according to the RBC analyst Deane Dray, who referred to the company's turnaround as a "game of inches" while maintaining a positive outlook on the company.
Shares have rallied 41% in 2019 amid a sharp recovery in the broader markets, as well as slew of decisions by the company to speed up its restructuring plan.
GEs challenges in 2019 are complex but clear," said chairman and CEO Larry Culp. "We are facing them head on as we execute on our strategic priorities to improve our financial position and strengthen our businesses. We have work to do in 2019, but we expect 2020 and 2021 performance to be significantly better."
Dray noted positive takeaways from the call including a significant recovery in the GE industrial segments' cash flows, continued deleveraging of the balance sheet, and stabilization in major segments such as power and aviation.
Dray also highlighted that the 2019 outlook was the first guidance given by GE since Culp was appointed CEO in October, giving confidence that he is now in a position to deliver on the forecast.Dray maintained his "outperformance," and raised his price target from $12 to $13 26% above where shares settled on Thursday.
In contrast, JPMorgan analyst Stephen Tusa maintained his "neutral" rating and $6 price target. Tusa, who has had a bearish view on GE for several years, is widely followed and his opinions have been known to cause sharp moves in the stock .
"All in, we see little convincing to change our view on the math here, now seems highly likely that consensus will remain too high on forward numbers ... in other words, this looks even more difficult at this stage than former management's challenges," Tusa wrote. "Even worse is that if recession hits, stubbornly high leverage would raise the stakes versus back then when it looked like an over-valued stock."
GE's stock was up 41% this year.