This top industrial could really jump with an economic pickup. 3M is closely correlated to U.S. leading economic indicators. The more the indicators continue to improve, the higher the likelihood of strong earnings performance for the company over the rest of the year, and with a huge portfolio of products in multiple silos, 3M certainly has staying power.
One issue for the industrial giant is that the company has a higher than sector average share of earnings from overseas, so any continued rally of the U.S. dollar against other currencies could lead to a decline in Wall Street earnings estimates and the company’s own guidance. With that said, any pickup here domestically could help to offset currency headwinds.
In the previous earnings report there were currency headwinds but those appear to have abated in this quarter. However despite this negative currency translation, the company still grew organically in the second quarter. In terms of the first quarter earnings, organic local-currency sales grew 3.3% and foreign currency translation reduced sales by 6.5% year-on-year.
In the first quarter earnings report, 3M lowered its full-year earnings expectation from a prior range of $8.00 to $8.30 per share to a new range of $7.80 to $8.10. Currency translation effects are now expected to cut full-year sales by 6% to 7%, up from a prior estimate of 4% to 5%. The current consensus analysts’ estimate calls for full-year EPS of $7.90 on sales of $31.14 billion.
Shares of 3M traded down 0.6% at $154.84 late on Wednesday. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $168.77 and a 52-week trading range of $130.60 to $170.50.
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