--- title: "Dow 30 Earnings: 3M Company First Quarter 2019" description: Dow 30, first quarter 2019, 3M (MMM) earned $2.23 a share for the March quarter, 11% off the year-earlier tally and well below our $2.55 estimate. image: https://investor.valueline.com/hubfs/social-suggested-images/iStock-176951617-1.jpg --- [![The Value Line Blog](https://investor.valueline.com/hubfs/VL%20Blog%20Images/vl_blog_header.png)](https://investor.valueline.com/blog) [Stock Highlights](https://investor.valueline.com/blog/topic/stock-highlights) # Dow 30 Earnings: 3M Company First Quarter 2019 April 25, 2019 Shares of **3M Company **([MMM ](https://research.valueline.com/research#sec=company&sym=MMM)– [Free 3M Stock Report](https://research.valueline.com/api/report?documentID=2185-VL_20190412_VLIS_MMM_3592_01-3QEJ4MGC6SUHK6HKB51OJ96H7H&symbol=MMM)) tumbled after the diversified manufacturer announced disappointing first-quarter financial results and slashed guidance. The stock had been on a relatively upward course since the turn of the calendar, but is up just roughly 4% in value for the year now, well below the S&P 500 Index.  The company earned $2.23 a share for the March quarter, 11% off the year-earlier tally and well below our $2.55 estimate. A top-line miss was a big reason for the shortfall, as sales came in at $7.863 billion, 5.3% below the previous year total and equally shy of expectations. Management placed a fair share of the blame on slowing end market demand, as organic sales declined 1.1% for the period. That said, divestitures and foreign currency translation played a role, too.  Segment wise, only Health Care was able to eke out a gain to the tune of 0.3%. Energy and Electronics, Industrial, Safety and Graphics, and Consumer reported pull backs of 11.8%, 6.6%, 4.2%, and 1.9%, respectively.  Geographically, Europe, Middle East, and Africa (collectively referred to as EMEA) was the biggest trouble spot, posting a 9.4% sales decline. Asia Pacific and Latin America/Canada did not fare much better, however, falling 7.4% and 6.5%, respectively. Sales inched 0.1% higher in the United States.  While stock repurchases continued to aid share-net comparisons, ongoing margin pressures and a higher tax rate posed further headwinds. The operating margin retreated 160 basis points on a year-over-year basis, and the effective tax rate was almost 200 basis points higher.  Guidance probably played a major role in the stock's pullback, also. Management now expects to earn between $9.25 and $9.75 a share for all of 2019, down from its previous $10.45-$10.90 range. In doing so, leadership now looks for organic local-currency sales of minus 1% to plus 2%, versus its earlier call for a 1% to 4% gain.  We've tempered our expectations accordingly. Our new share-earnings estimate for all of 2019 sits at $9.60, down $1.00 from our previous call. While top-line pressures are largely responsible for our reduction, we also are now modeling for continued margin pressures and a slightly higher effective tax rate.  We think that the aforementioned pullback provides risk-averse parties with a long-term investment horizon a decent entry point. This blue chip holds below average three- to five-year growth potential, but total-return potential is more appealing on a risk-adjusted basis. Plus, the company's cash flow, along with management's willingness to alter the business model via the M&A game, make it possible that our 2022-2024 projections will be proven conservative. Regardless, this Dow member should deliver relatively steady gains. **About the Company: [3M](http://www.valueline.com/WorkArea/linkit.aspx?LinkIdentifier=id&ItemID=10569)**, a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, is a diversified global manufacturer, technology innovator, and marketer of a wide variety of products and services. Its five business segments include: Industrial (37.2% of 2018 sales); Safety & Graphics (19.8%); Health Care (19.1%); Electronics & Energy (16.9%); and Consumer (15.2%). (Elimination of Dual Credit was a 8.2% drag.)  - Andre J. Costanza *At the time of this article’s writing, the author did not have positions in any of the companies mentioned.* [![Register now for our free One Stock to Buy webinar](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/2532383/5a80130b-f0ce-4bd8-acbd-f077f2232ec5.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/2532383/5a80130b-f0ce-4bd8-acbd-f077f2232ec5) ### Popular Posts Search Search Blog ### Topics - [Investing 101 (2)](https://investor.valueline.com/blog/topic/investing-101) - [Market Commentary (37)](https://investor.valueline.com/blog/topic/market-commentary) - [Stock Highlights (390)](https://investor.valueline.com/blog/topic/stock-highlights) - [Stock Market Today (2071)](https://investor.valueline.com/blog/topic/stock-market-today) Copyright 2026 Value Line, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factual material is obtained from sources believed to be reliable and is provided without warranties of any kind. 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