By Dean Seal
3M isn't lowering its 2025 earnings guidance in light of President Trump's tariff campaign but instead is adding a "tariff sensitivity" to show how much the levies could cut into its current outlook.
The materials maker said it is bracing for a small impact to its profit in the second half of the year from the U.S.'s tariff back-and-forth with China, which represents about 10% of the company's $1.6 billion in imports.
"Tariffs are going to be a headwind this year, but we thought it would be prudent to hold the impact outside of our full-year guidance, while I digest the new policies and fully develop and quantify mitigation plans, " Chief Executive William Brown said on a call with analysts.
3M said Tuesday that it still expects adjusted earnings of $7.60 to $7.90 a share this year, but that tariffs could knock the figure down by 20 cents to 40 cents a share.
The stock was up 7.9% at $139 in midday trading.
The addition of "tariff sensitivity" to the outlook echoes a similar move by United Airlines earlier this year, in which the carrier both reaffirmed its full-year guidance and provided a second outlook that accounted for a possible U.S. recession this year. Public company executives are trying to determine how best to balance prudent guidance with the unpredictability of President Trump's erratic tariff campaign.
3M's management said it is looking at immediate actions to shift its supply chain and trade flow to minimize the impact of tariffs, according to Brown.
"Where we might have been shipping a finished good, we may now ship a semifinished good and do finishing in a different market, different country," the CEO said.
For the first quarter, 3M reported a profit of $1.12 billion, or $2.04 a share, compared with $928 million, or $1.67 a share, in the same period a year earlier.
Stripping out one-time items, adjusted earnings were $1.88 a share. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had been expecting $1.77 a share.
Sales slid 1% to $5.95 billion, but still came in above analyst projections for $5.76 billion, according to FactSet.
Write to Dean Seal at dean.seal@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 22, 2025 12:32 ET (16:32 GMT)
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