October 23, 2018
3M Reports Q3 Sales Dip
The parent company of a Top 40 supplier saw stocks drop too in early premarket trading despite a rise in Q3 earnings.
3M, parent company of Top 40 supplier 3M/Promotional Markets (asi/91240), reported Tuesday that total third quarter sales declined 0.2% year-over-year to $8.15 billion, but that revenue for the first nine months of the year rose 5% to $24.82 billion. The St. Paul, MN-headquartered corporation also said Q3 earnings increased to $1.54 billion, or $2.58 in earnings per share – a 10.7% jump over the same three-month period the prior year but below forecasted targets.
MarketWatch reported that 3M’s stock dropped 6.3% in premarket trading on Tuesday morning. According to MarketWatch, 3M shares have lifted 1.3% over the last three months, compared with a 1.8% decline in the S&P 500 SPX, -0.43% and a 1.1% rise in the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.50%.
Dow is set for 400-point drop at the open after 3M, Caterpillar earnings disappoint https://t.co/LgpgS1wgIh pic.twitter.com/sDsAyMn4sl
— CNBC Now (@CNBCnow) October 23, 2018
In addition to the Q3 sales decline and earnings miss, 3M’s Tuesday stock drop was driven by the company lowering its anticipated GAAP earnings per share for 2018 from a previously expected range of $9.08 to $9.38 down to a range of $8.78 to $8.93.
Excluding impacts from a communication markets business divestiture gain and related actions, a first-quarter legal settlement, and a Tax Cuts and Jobs Act-related expense, 3M noted that its adjusted 2018 earnings should fall in the range of $9.90 to $10.00 per share versus a prior expectation of $10.20 to $10.45. “The update to the ranges reflects an estimated full-year earnings headwind of $0.05 per share from foreign currency versus a prior expectation of a benefit of $0.10 per share,” 3M said in an earnings summary.
Two more industrial companies, Caterpillar and 3M, are disappointed with their corporate earnings as global trade concerns continue to weigh on resultshttps://t.co/WX3IwI7wa5
— Axios (@axios) October 23, 2018
According to a company financial statement, 3M’s safety and graphics division increased year-over-year sales by 7% during the third quarter. Sales in the firm’s industrial division were flat, while there were declines of 2.8% in the healthcare segment, 3.4% in the consumer division, and 4.8% in the electronics and energy channel. On a geographic basis, total sales grew 1.6% in Asia Pacific and 1.3% in the U.S. Meanwhile, total sales declined 3.9% in EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) and 5.5% in Latin America/Canada.
With estimated North American promotional product revenue of $93 million, 3M/Promotional Markets ranked 18th on Counselor’s latest list of the largest suppliers in the industry.