3M lifts full-year earnings outlook after strong third-quarter results

In its third-quarter report, 3M posted adjusted earnings of $2.50 per share, a 12% rise from the prior year, and adjusted sales of $6.6 billion, up 4.2% with organic growth of 3.3%. The adjusted operating margin climbed to 26.2%, while GAAP earnings surged 70% to $2.63 per share, boosted by a $0.60-per-share gain from the increased value of its Solventum ownership. Based on this performance, the firm lifted its full-year adjusted earnings target to $9.10-$9.15 a share, up from the previous high of $8.95.

The revision also incorporates the recent purchase of Madison Fire & Rescue and a change that treats amortization of intangibles as a special item, adding roughly 40 basis points to margin. 3M forecast adjusted sales growth above 4.5% for the year and expects operating cash flow of about $5.9 billion. Additionally, it entered an expanded commercial deal with an Amazon subsidiary and is acquiring roughly 4.7% of Genius Electronic Optical Co. to support its Expanded Beam Optics products.