While the company posted an upbeat Q2 performance, there are near-term risks, primarily the rising raw-materials costs due to inflationary pressure, which may impact the overall earnings growth. Try the Trefis machine learning engine above to see for yourself how General Electric stock is likely to behave after any specific gain or loss over a period. Answer: If you buy and hold General Electric stock, the expectation is over time the near-term fluctuations will cancel out, and the long-term positive trend will favor you – at least if the company is otherwise strong.