Key Stats for 3M Stock
- 1- Year Price Change for 3M stock: 21%
- $MMM Share Price as of Jan. 16: $168
- 52-Week High: $174
- $MMM Stock Price Target: $174
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What Happened?
3M (MMM) stock fell over 6% after the industrial giant forecast 2026 earnings below Wall Street expectations. The company guided for adjusted earnings of $8.50 to $8.70 per share, with the midpoint landing about a penny below the analyst consensus of $8.61.
The main culprit is weak consumer demand. 3M’s consumer segment, which includes products like Scotch tape and Post-it notes, saw fourth-quarter sales drop 1.2% year over year. That segment makes up more than 20% of the company’s total revenue, so the weakness has a meaningful impact.
CEO Bill Brown said on the earnings call that consumer sentiment was “subdued” through much of the fourth quarter, though December showed some improvement with double-digit growth.
“We had a very good December, although Q4 came in down 2.2%,” Brown explained. “So it dropped the year to be negative for consumer.”
The broader macro picture isn’t helping either.
- 3M’s roofing granules and automotive aftermarket businesses remain under pressure.
- The company expects U.S. industrial production to be flat in 2026 after growing just 1% in 2025.
But 3M stock isn’t without positives.
- The company beat fourth-quarter earnings expectations with adjusted EPS of $1.83 versus the $1.80 estimate.
- Operating margin came in at 23.4%, up 200 basis points from last year and at the high end of guidance.
- And 3M generated over $4.8 billion in free cash flow for the year, supporting $3.2 billion in share buybacks.
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What the Market Is Telling Us About 3M Stock
3M stock got punished because investors wanted to see stronger profit guidance, especially after the company delivered solid margin expansion in 2025. The market is also concerned about whether 3M’s consumer recovery will materialize as planned.
Brown stressed that the company launched 284 new products in 2025, up 68% from the prior year, and plans to launch 350 more in 2026. Sales from products launched in the last five years grew 23% in 2025, well above the company’s high-teens target.
“Our accelerated pace of innovation and commercial execution positions us to outperform the macro environment again in 2026,” Brown said in a statement.
3M stock also got a boost from the company’s operational improvements. The company achieved 90% on-time, in-full (OTIF) delivery for 7 straight months, up 300 basis points year-over-year.
Asset utilization (OEE) improved by over 300 basis points, and the cost of poor quality dropped 100 basis points to 6% of the cost of goods sold.
For now, 3M stock appears caught between solid execution on cost-cutting and innovation versus a tough consumer environment.
The company expects organic sales growth of about 3% in 2026, up from 2.1% in 2025, with margins expanding another 70 to 80 basis points.
But until the consumer segment shows clearer signs of recovery, investors may stay cautious.
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Disclaimer:
Please note that the articles on TIKR are not intended to serve as investment or financial advice from TIKR or our content team, nor are they recommendations to buy or sell any stocks. We create our content based on TIKR Terminal’s investment data and analysts’ estimates. Our analysis might not include recent company news or important updates. TIKR has no position in any stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading, and happy investing!
