3M Co. (NYSE:MMM) stock rose in Tuesday’s premarket trading after the company reported strong third-quarter results. Adjusted earnings beat Wall Street estimates, while revenue narrowly missed expectations.
The industrial conglomerate also raised its full-year earnings guidance for the second straight quarter, citing stronger operating performance and productivity gains.
Third-Quarter Earnings Beat Estimates
Adjusted earnings per share rose 12% year over year to $2.50, beating analysts’ estimate of $2.39.
Adjusted sales increased 4.2% to $6.6 billion, slightly below the $6.61 billion consensus estimate. Meanwhile, adjusted organic sales grew 3.3% from a year earlier.
Adjusted operating margin expanded 110 basis points to 26.2% under the company’s new reporting basis.
3M generated $500 million in operating cash flow and $1.2 billion in adjusted free cash flow. It also returned $600 million to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases.
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CEO Highlights Productivity Gains And Innovation
CEO William Brown attributed the strong quarter to higher sales, expanding margins, double-digit earnings growth and solid free cash flow.
He said ongoing structural changes are improving productivity, while a stronger pipeline of differentiated technologies supports 3M’s long-term growth and margin outlook.
3M Raises 2026 Earnings Guidance
3M raised its full-year adjusted earnings forecast to $9.10-$9.15 per share from $8.80-$8.95. The revised outlook exceeds the $8.94 consensus estimate.
The company expects full-year revenue to exceed $25.37 billion, compared with analysts’ estimate of $25.45 billion.
3M also projects adjusted total sales growth above 4.5%, including adjusted organic sales growth of more than 3.5%.
Additionally, the company expects adjusted operating cash flow of approximately $5.9 billion and adjusted free cash flow of about $4.8 billion.
MMM Price Action: 3M shares were up 1.10% at $163.80 during premarket trading on Tuesday, according to Benzinga Pro data.
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