For instance, in spite of the challenging environment, German luxury car maker Audi has nearly doubled its sales in the first two months of the curren

Its shares, which have been beaten down over the past year, rose 3.5 percent in premarket trading and investors said the 36 percent drop in profit could be a sign that the current recession is approaching its nadir.

"The numbers are showing stabilization in the global economy and in the performance of GE stock," said Jim Hardesty, president of Hardesty Capital Management in Baltimore, which owns GE shares. "The result still wasn't good, though."

The largest U.S. conglomerate said its order backlog -- a key indicator for sales of electricity-producing turbines, jet engines and other heavy equipment -- held steady at $171 billion and that its finance arm was on track for a profitable year.

GE is viewed as a barometer of the economy due to the size and breadth of its operations.The Fairfield, Connecticut-based company plans to cut its costs by more than $5 billion this year.GE's net income attributable to common shareholders fell 36 percent to $2.74 billion, or 26 cents per diluted share, down from $4.3 billion, or 43 cents per diluted share a year earlier.Analysts, on average, looked for profit of 21 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates.Revenue fell 9 percent to $38.41 billion. Its order backlog remained stable at $171 billion.