3M Analysts Boost Their Forecasts Following Strong Q3 Earnings

3M Co (NYSE:MMM) on Tuesday reported better-than-expected third-quarter adjusted EPS results and raised its FY26 adjusted EPS guidance above 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.

3M raised its 2026 adjusted earnings forecast to $9.10-$9.15 per share from $8.95-$9.10 on a comparable accounting basis. The previous forecast was $8.80-$8.95 under the earlier reporting method. The revised range also topped analysts’ $8.94 estimate.

The company expects full-year adjusted sales to exceed $25.37 billion, compared with analysts’ $25.45 billion forecast.

“We delivered another quarter of strong results, including solid sales growth, continued margin expansion, double-digit EPS growth, and robust free cash flow,” said William Brown, 3M Chairman and CEO. “Improving productivity through structural transformation and a stronger pipeline of differentiated technologies reinforce our confidence in the full-year outlook and long-term growth and margin potential. I want to thank the 3M team for their focus on customers and disciplined execution, which continues to strengthen our performance and create shareholder value.”

3M shares slipped 0.1% to trade at $171.35 on Wednesday.

These analysts made changes to their price targets on 3M following earnings announcement.

• RBC Capital analyst Jeffrey Reive maintained the stock with an Underperform rating and raised the price target from $132 to $135.
• JP Morgan analyst Julian Mitchell maintained the stock with an Overweight rating and raised the price target from $185 to $191.
• Bernstein analyst Varun Govindaraj maintained the stock with a Market Perform and boosted the price target from $171 to $197.

Considering buying MMM stock? Here’s what analysts think:

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