Good morning. Carrier Global Corporation, a giant in the manufacturing industry, has been in business for more than 100 years. But the company is showing no signs of slowing down—it's excelling in growth.
In a new piece, my Fortune colleague Shawn Tully takes a look into Carrier’s success and why CEO Dave Gitlin has been so effective. The Fortune 500 company which offers high-technology heating, air-conditioning and refrigeration solutions, is outpacing tech giants in shareholder returns.
“Put simply, over the four-and-a-half-year period since Carrier shares (CARR) debuted on the NYSE, Dave Gitlin, at age 55, arguably stands as not only the most successful CEO you’ve probably never heard of, but also the most successful industrial CEO in America,” Tully writes.
Gitlin is a 22-year veteran of conglomerate United Technologies (now RTX), where he became the head of the aerospace systems arm. He took the Carrier job when UTC was determined to spin off its HVAC and Otis elevator arms, in mid-2019. In April 2020, Carrier emerged as a public company.
Tully writes: “From Carrier’s entrance as a public company through mid-November 2024, its stock has soared from $13.75 to $75, or 445%, lifting its market cap from $12 billion to $67 billion. Over that span, Carrier has delivered total shareholder returns of 40.1% a year. That record beats Microsoft (25.8%), Alphabet (29.8%), and Apple (34.2%), and until its Trump election rally, closely trailed Tesla (now 62.3%).
"What makes the overhaul so exceptional is that all through the near frenzy of sectors added and axed—he either sold or reached contracts to unload, all the non-core businesses in five separate transactions, at excellent prices—Gitlin posted sterling financial results across the board, driving the epic gains in share price."
Tully delves into Carrier’s recent purchase of Viessmann Climate Solutions for $13.3 billion, and speaks with Gitlin about his career, leadership advice, and how he once turned down the chance to run Boeing. You can read the complete article here.
Have a good weekend. See you on Monday.
Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com
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The following sections of CFO Daily were curated by Greg McKenna.
