EarningsQ3 2026 Earnings Report
MX:MMM Q3 2026 EPS Results
Actual EPS$46.71
Consensus EPS$44.54
Beat/MissBeat by +$2.17
One Year Ago EPS$40.92
MX:MMM Q3 2026 Revenue Results
Actual Revenue$123.01B
Expected Revenue$123.49B
Beat/MissMissed by -$481.12M
YoY Revenue Growth+1.03%
Earnings Announcement Details
QuarterQ3 2026
Date10/20/2026
TimeBefore Open
Conference CallTuesday, October 20, 2026
MX:MMM Upcoming Earnings
3M's next earnings date is estimated for January 26, 2027, based on past reporting schedules.
Q3 2026 Earnings Call Audio
MX:MMM Q3 2026 Earnings Call
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Q3 2026 Earnings Slide Deck
Q3 2026 Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Sentiment|Positive
The call was strongly positive overall. Management reported broad-based financial improvement, strong order and backlog trends, raised EPS guidance, sustained productivity gains, and meaningful progress in innovation, data centers, EBO, and space materials. The principal challenges were weakness in consumer electronics, China, auto, and parts of the consumer business, along with oil inflation, tariffs, transformation costs, and ongoing litigation. These lowlights were acknowledged but were generally described as offset by pricing, productivity, backlog, and growth in industrial, safety, semiconductor, aerospace, and data-center markets.Company Guidance
Strong Third-Quarter Financial Performance
3M delivered Q3 organic growth of 3.3%, operating margin of 26.2%—up 110 basis points—adjusted earnings per share of $2.50—up 12%—and free cash flow of $1.2 billion. The company returned $600 million to shareholders, including $400 million in dividends and $200 million in share repurchases.
Improved Year-to-Date Results and Capital Returns
Year to date, organic sales growth was 3.3%, operating margin increased 60 basis points to 25.2%, earnings grew 12%, and free cash flow reached $3.1 billion. 3M returned $4.4 billion to shareholders year to date, including $1.2 billion in dividends and $3.2 billion in share repurchases.
Raised 2026 Earnings Guidance
The company remains confident in achieving full-year organic growth of greater than 3.5% and expects fourth-quarter organic growth of just over 4%. Adjusted EPS guidance was raised to $9.10-$9.15, representing growth of between 11% and 12%. Full-year adjusted operating margin is expected to be about 24.6%, free cash flow approximately $4.8 billion, and the adjusted tax rate about 20%.
Strong Orders and Backlog Visibility
Quarterly order trends grew high single digits, while backlog increased high teens year over year. Management also cited backlog growth of about 18% entering the fourth quarter, with approximately 25% of revenue in backlog, providing visibility into fourth-quarter performance.
Industrial and Safety Growth
Safety & Industrial delivered 7% organic sales growth, driven by commercial excellence initiatives and the ramp-up of new products. Industrial and safety markets showed strong momentum, with second-half growth accelerating to high single digits above prior expectations. Year-to-date SIBG sales were up 6.1%, with orders and backlog up double digits.
Strength in Semiconductors, Data Centers, Aerospace, and Other Growth Markets
Semiconductors and data centers delivered continued strong double-digit growth, while aerospace also grew double digits due to defense strength, sustained civil aviation build rates, and demand for space films. Outside consumer electronics, Transportation & Electronics grew about 5% across semiconductors, aerospace, commercial branding, and auto.
Geographic Growth Across Most Regions
The U.S. and Canada grew approximately 7%, the highest growth reported since the pandemic. Latin America grew high single digits, Europe grew for a second consecutive quarter despite a soft auto market, and Asia delivered positive growth, including another double-digit quarter in India.
New Product and Innovation Momentum
3M launched 87 new products in Q3, up 24%, and expects to exceed 350 launches for the year. Five-year new-product sales increased 34% year over year to nearly $3 billion, with new-product vitality improving to the mid-teens from 11% in 2024. The company expects to exceed its three-year target of 1,000 new products.
Cross-Selling and Commercial Excellence Progress
Cross-selling wins booked to date reached $140 million, with another $120 million in the pipeline, ahead of the original $100 million three-year goal. Management also cited improved pricing, sales-force effectiveness, customer service, delivery rates, product availability, and reduced customer churn.
Productivity and Gross Margin Improvement
Manufacturing and supply-chain productivity, including procurement savings, higher asset utilization, lower downtime, and improved quality, increased gross margin by 230 basis points year over year. Cost of poor quality improved by 40 basis points and overall equipment effectiveness improved by 20 basis points.
Manufacturing Network Simplification
3M has closed 16 manufacturing sites and distribution centers year to date and plans to take action on 10 more over the next 12 months. Management said these actions support further gross-margin improvement beyond 2027.
Madison Fire and Rescue Integration Progress
The Madison Fire and Rescue joint venture delivered high single-digit pro forma growth and operating margins ahead of its deal model and 3M overall. Integration is underway to capture synergies across distribution, international expansion, and operational performance.
Amazon and EBO Strategic Partnership
3M issued Amazon a warrant to purchase up to 3.2 million shares, approximately 0.6% of 3M common stock, subject to achieving $6 billion in cumulative sales of optical connectivity and other data-center-related products over the next seven years and other milestones. Management described the agreement as an important strategic relationship and validation of EBO technology.
EBO Manufacturing Scale-Up and Ecosystem Expansion
3M doubled internal EBO manufacturing capacity to more than 10 million ferrules annually and entered a contract manufacturing agreement with GSEO, while acquiring a 4.7% stake in the company. The EBO Multi-Source Agreement expanded from 17 to 63 members, and EBO was demonstrated by ecosystem partners at the Open Compute Project Global Summit.
EBO Revenue Growth Opportunity
EBO revenue is expected to be approximately $40 million in 2026 and likely to double, or be somewhat better than double, in 2027. Management cited a total addressable market of around $2 billion in 2028 and said the broader data-center business is expected to reach about $700 million this year versus approximately $550 million last year.
Space Materials Innovation Pipeline
3M launched a lightweight reflective film for a commercial constellation in Q3 and plans to launch a moisture-resistant barrier for solar panels in Q4. More than 10 additional space-materials projects are in development or pre-pipeline stages, covering low-Earth and geosynchronous orbits and commercial and government customers.
AI-Enabled Innovation and Faster Development
Management is investing in AI-enabled tools and expects innovation cycle time to be down 20%, with on-time launch attainment around 80% to 81%. AI is being applied to virtual modeling, simulation, and 3M's technical information, with management stating that it could further compress cycle time and accelerate new-product launches.
Confidence in 2027 Margin Expansion
Management expects to exceed the Investor Day margin target of 25.4% on the new basis in 2027. Volume incrementals are now closer to 40%, compared with the historical 30%-40% range, and productivity is expected to more than offset investments and stranded costs.
Progress Toward Capital Deployment Target
3M has returned $9.3 billion since the start of 2025 and stated that it is well on its way to exceeding its $10 billion capital-return target. Share buybacks are expected to continue to be accretive.
MX:MMM Earnings History
The table shows recent earnings report dates and whether the forecast was beat or missed. See the change in forecast and EPS from the previous year.
Beat
Missed