INSTANT VIEW - GE profit tumbles, revenues miss Street view

NEW YORK (Reuters) - General Electric (GE.N) reported a sharply lower quarterly profit and missed Wall Street's revenue targets on weakness at its finance and NBC media businesses.

Quarterly revenues from continuing operations were $39.1 billion (24 billion pounds), down 17 percent year-over-year. Analysts expected the conglomerate to report revenue just north of $42 billion.

Earnings per share came in at 26 cents in the period, 2 pennies better than expected.

"Our service businesses had positive order and earnings growth in the first half of 2009, and we see this strength carrying over to the second half," said GE Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt.

Excluding the effects of foreign exchange, GE said its Capital Finance arm has reduced its ending net investment by $24 billion in the first half of the year.

"We have substantially increased our capital ratios, reduced leverage, increased reserves, accelerated long-term debt funding and lowered commercial paper balances," Immelt said.

COMMENTS:

TOM SCHRADER, MANAGING DIRECTOR, U.S. EQUITY TRADING, STIFEL NICOLAUS CAPITAL MARKETS, BALTIMORE

"The revenue number in GE was weak, and overall the markets aren't reactive positively to anything. The dollar is positive because of the bombings in Jakarta, and the energy markets are up across the board.