Investors who have owned stocks in the past year have generally experienced some big gains. But there is no question some big-name stocks performed better than others along the way. GE’s Bumpy Ride One company that has been a disappointing investment in the past year has been industrial giant General Electric Company. GE has been one of the blue-chip stocks in the U.S. market for more than a century and was one of the original Dow Jones Industrial Average components. But a difficult energy environment coupled with some questionable accounting, ill-timed investments and poor balance sheet management created a perfect storm for GE investors in recent years. GE’s latest bold decision was announced in November when the company said it plans to break into three separate companies focused on aviation, health care and energy. GE said investors can expect spin-offs of its health care unit and energy unit to be completed in …