3M Stock Declines After Cutting Full-Year Forecasts

Key points:
3M reported Q3 earnings before the open on Tuesday
The company cut guidance
MMM shares are down over 2%

3M (NYSE: MMM) shares are down over 2% after the company reported third-quarter results on Tuesday.

The firm, which works across numerous industries, reported sales of $8.6 billion, down 4% year-on-year, including a 5% decrease from foreign currency translation due to the strength of the dollar.

Meanwhile, the group posted adjusted EPS of $2.69, beating analysts’ expectations of $2.60. 3M returned $1 billion to shareholders through dividends and total share repurchases.

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“We continue to execute our strategies and deliver for our customers in a highly uncertain environment,” said 3M chairman and CEO Mike Roman.

Roman stated that despite a “decline in disposable respirator sales,” the group achieved “over 3 percent organic growth.”

“We continue to position 3M for the future through investments for growth, productivity and sustainability, along with active portfolio management,” continued Roman. “This quarter we divested our food safety business and began executing the work-streams to successfully spin our Health Care business, resulting in two world-class, public companies.”

Regarding its forecast, the company adjusted its earnings to account for the US dollar’s sustained gain and the economic uncertainty.

Total sales growth for the full year is now expected to be between -3.5% and -3% compared to prior guidance of -2.5% and -0.5%. In addition, the foreign currency translation impact on sales is anticipated to be -4.5% compared to -4%.

Meanwhile, 3M expects adjusted earnings per share to be at $10.10 and $10.35 versus previous forecasts of $10.30 and $10.80.

3M shares have declined 33% this year as economic headwinds have continued to impact the market. As a result, Morgan Stanley analyst Joshua Pokrzywinski recently lowered the firm’s price target to $108 from $131.