3M Company (MMM Quick QuoteMMM - Free Report) reported first-quarter 2026 results, wherein earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate while revenues missed the same.

It’s worth noting that in April 2024, the company completed the spin-off of its Healthcare business into a separate public company.

Inside MMM’s Headlines

3M delivered adjusted earnings of $2.14 per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.02 by 5.9%. The bottom line increased 14% year over year.

The company reported net revenues of $6.03 billion in the quarter. The metric increased 1.3% year over year. However, organic sales decreased 1.4%. Foreign currency translation had a positive impact of 2.8% while acquisitions/divestitures had a negative impact of 0.1%.

MMM’s adjusted revenues of $6 billion missed the consensus estimate of $6.02 billion by 0.3%. On an adjusted basis, organic revenues increased 1.2% year over year. The results were supported by strength in general industrial, safety and electronics end markets.

Region-wise, adjusted organic sales in the Americas rose 0.1% year over year, other Asia adjusted organic sales increased 4.6% and China adjusted organic sales increased 4%. Adjusted organic sales from businesses in Europe, the Middle East and Africa decreased 0.7%.

3M’s Q1 Segmental Results

Revenues from Safety and Industrial totaled $2.93 billion, up 6.8% year over year, driven by strength in safety, industrial adhesives and tapes, abrasives and electrical markets. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the segment’s revenues was pegged at $2.90 billion. Organic revenues increased 3.2% and foreign currency translation had a positive impact of 3.6%.

Revenues from Transportation & Electronics totaled $1.85 billion, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 1.8%. The consensus estimate for the segment’s revenues was pegged at $1.87 billion. However, the segment’s organic sales decreased 0.3%. Foreign currency translation had a 2.4% favorable impact, while divestiture had an adverse impact of 0.3% on revenues.

Revenues from the Consumer segment increased 0.6% year over year to $1.13 billion. The consensus estimate for the segment’s revenues was pegged at $1.14 billion. Organic sales decreased 1.3% while movements in foreign currencies had a positive impact of 1.9%.

MMM’s Margin Profile

3M’s cost of sales increased 2.8% year over year to $3.57 billion. Selling, general and administrative expenses decreased 21.3% to $744 million. Research, development and related expenses increased 8.1% year over year to $308 million.

In the first quarter, 3M reported an operating income of $1.40 billion, up 12.1% from the year-ago period. The operating margin expanded to 23.2% from 20.9%, driven by lower operating expenses.

MMM’s adjusted operating income increased 6.4% year over year to $1.39 billion. The adjusted operating margin was 23.6% compared with 23% in the year-ago quarter. The adjusted tax rate was 17.5% compared with 20.9% in the year-ago quarter.

3M’s Balance Sheet & Cash Flow

Exiting the first three months of 2026, 3M had cash and cash equivalents of $3.73 billion compared with $5.24 billion at the end of December 2025. Long-term debt was $10.91 billion at the end of the quarter compared with $10.93 billion at the end of December 2025.

3M generated a net cash of $574 million in operating activities compared with $79 million cash used in the year-ago quarter. Capital used for purchasing property, plant and equipment decreased 4.7% to $225 million.

Adjusted free cash flow at the end of the quarter was $541 million, up 10.6% year over year. Adjusted free cash flow conversion was 47% in the quarter.

In the first three months of 2026, 3M rewarded its shareholders with $2.41 billion in share repurchases and dividend payments.

MMM’s 2026 Guidance

For 2026, MMM expects adjusted earnings to be in the range of $8.50-$8.70 per share. The midpoint of the guided range is about $8.60, which reflects an increase from earnings of $8.06 per share reported in 2025.

Adjusted organic revenue growth is projected to be about 3%. The company expects the adjusted free cash flow conversion rate to be more than 100%.

MMM’s Zacks Rank

The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

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Some better-ranked companies are discussed below.

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In the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for EnerSys’ fiscal 2026 (ended March 2026) earnings has increased 0.3%.