MW 3M's earnings beat can't save the stock from the broad-market selloff

By Tomi Kilgore

Overall revenue tops forecasts, but the consumer business extends streak of misses

3M's stock

Shares of 3M slipped in early Tuesday trading, as the Post-it Notes, Scotch tape and Command strips maker's quarterly earnings beat and in-line profit outlook was overshadowed by a broad-market selloff.

It's just bad timing, as the results were released on a day that the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, of which 3M's stock $(MMM)$ is a component, was headed for a more than 600-point drop, after President Donald Trump threatened tariffs on European countries, as part of his Greenland strategy.

3M reported fourth-quarter net income that fell 20.7% to $577 million. But adjusted earnings per share, which excludes nonrecurring items such as costs related to litigation and forever-chemicals products, rose to $1.83 from $1.68, and exceeded the average analyst EPS estimate compiled by FactSet of $1.80.

Net sales grew 2% to $6.13 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $6.01 billion.

The company said it managed to outperform despite a "soft" macroeconomic environment. But the stock lost 0.5% in premarket trading, as 28 of the Dow's 30 components lost ground.

For 2026, the company expects adjusted EPS of $8.50 to $8.70, which surrounds the current FactSet consensus of $8.64. For sales, 3M expects growth of about 4%, while the FactSet consensus of $25.01 billion implies 2.6% growth.

For 3M's business segments, safety and industrial revenue increased 6% to $2.87 billion, just above expectations of $2.85 billion, and transportation and electronics revenue declined 1.7% to $1.96 billion but topped expectations of $1.86 billion.

Meanwhile, sales for the consumer business, which includes Post-it Notes, Scotch tape and Command strips, fell 1.2% to $1.21 billion from $1.23 billion, while the FactSet consensus was for an increase to $1.25 billion.

Although overall sales have now beat expectations for eight straight quarters, the consumer business has missed for five straight quarters.

The stock has rallied 19% over the past 12 months through Friday, while the Dow has advanced 13.5%.

-Tomi Kilgore

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January 20, 2026 07:04 ET (12:04 GMT)

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