General Electric is set to report its third-quarter earnings five days later than expected, and investors are bracing for more negative updates, especially regarding the company's quarterly dividend.

GE cut the dividend in half last November, and many analysts on Wall Street expect newly appointed CEO Larry Culp to cut the dividend again as GE struggles to turn its balance sheet around. GE's board named Culp chairman and CEO on Oct. 1, and the dividend, currently paying out at 12 cents a share, is considered top among Culp's priorities.

Culp is coming into GE with a track record of success as the CEO of Danaher but his previous "situation could not have been more different to this," J.P. Morgan's Stephen Tusa said earlier this month.

"The reset itself, and how potentially bad it actually is, is still in front of [GE management], including a likely dividend cut and potential equity raise," Tusa said.

GE shares enjoyed a 16 percent rally the week of Culp's appointment and rose as high as $13.78 a share in trading on Oct. 9. But the stock has since sold off and is nearly flat this month, closing Friday trading at $11.30 a share.