3M Stock Soars on Impressive Q4 Results and Upbeat 2025 Outlook
The industrial conglomerate 3M Company (NYSE:MMM) has sent its stock price surging after announcing better-than-expected fourth-quarter 2024 results and providing optimistic guidance for 2025. The company’s net sales reached $6.01 billion, a modest 0.13% increase year-over-year.
Strong Sales Performance
Adjusted net sales came in at $5.808 billion, beating the consensus estimate of $5.781 billion and representing a 2.2% year-over-year growth. The company’s adjusted EPS of $1.68 also exceeded expectations, despite a 2% decline from the previous year.
Segment-Wise Performance
The Safety & Industrial segment reported a 2.4% adjusted organic growth, accompanied by an expansion of its adjusted operating margin to 21% from 19.7% in the prior year quarter. Transportation & Electronics saw a 2% adjusted organic growth, although its adjusted operating margin contracted to 19.4% from 20.9% a year ago. The consumer segment reported a more modest 1.2% adjusted organic growth.
Operating Cash Flow and Shareholder Returns
Operating cash flow for full-year 2024 stood at $1.8 billion, down significantly from $6.68 billion in the previous year. However, the company returned a substantial $3.8 billion to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases.
2025 Guidance: A Promising Outlook
3M anticipates adjusted total sales growth of 0.5% to 1.5% in 2025, driven by adjusted organic sales growth of 2% to 3%. The company projects adjusted EPS in the range of $7.60 to $7.90, slightly above the consensus estimate of $7.78. Additionally, 3M expects adjusted operating cash flow between $5.2 billion and $5.3 billion, resulting in approximately 100% adjusted free cash flow conversion.
Market Reaction
As a result of these impressive results and guidance, MMM shares are trading higher by 4.23% at $147 premarket.
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