Earnings
3M raises 2026 profit forecast as safety and industrial sales carry the quarter
Adjusted EPS rose 12% to $2.50, but growth was concentrated in one segment and free cash flow slipped from a year ago.
HedgeWeekly News Desk ·
3M raised its full-year earnings outlook on Tuesday, now guiding to adjusted EPS of $9.10 to $9.15 for 2026, after third-quarter adjusted EPS increased 12% to $2.50 from $2.23. GAAP diluted EPS was $2.63, compared with $1.55 a year earlier.
Sales reached $6.6 billion. On a GAAP basis they rose 1.0%, with organic growth of 0.2%; on the company's adjusted basis they grew 4.2%, or 3.3% organically. Adjusted operating margin widened by 110 basis points to 26.2%, and GAAP operating margin improved to 23.7% from 22.2%.
The gains came mostly from Safety and Industrial, where sales grew 9.1%, or 7.0% organically, and segment operating income rose to $960 million from $792 million. Transportation and Electronics sales were up just 0.4% and its operating income fell to $468 million from $484 million, while Consumer sales slipped 0.4%. Adjusted free cash flow was $1.2 billion, down from $1.31 billion, and 3M returned $0.6 billion to shareholders.
Two points matter for anyone comparing numbers. First, 3M now treats amortization of intangible assets as a special item for all periods, a change it says adds about $0.04 to quarterly adjusted EPS, so the new guidance is not directly comparable with the July outlook it replaces. Second, the outlook now includes the Madison Fire & Rescue acquisition. The company targets adjusted organic growth above 3.5%, total adjusted sales growth above 4.5% and about $4.8 billion of adjusted free cash flow for the year.