3M names new CEO after strong Q1 earnings report

3M Co (NYSE: MMM) is in the green this morning after reporting better-than-expected earnings for its first financial quarter.

3M stock up on upbeat guidance

Investors are content because the management issued encouraging guidance for the future as well. $MMM now forecasts between $6.80 to $7.30 of adjusted per-share earnings this year.

Analysts, in comparison, were at $7.0 per share. Mike Roman - the chief executive of 3M Co said in a press release today:

Note that the multinational conglomerate successfully separated Solventum in April as Invezz reported here. 3M stock is now up 25% versus its year-to-date low.

3M Q1 earnings snapshot

• Earned $928 million versus the year-ago $976 million
• Per-share earnings also declined from $1.76 to $1.67
• Adjusted EPS printed at $2.39 as per the earnings report
• Revenue inched down 0.3% year-over-year to $8.0 billion
• Consensus was $2.10 a share on $7.60 billion in sales

3M Co improved its operating margin by 400 basis points to 21.9% in Q1. CEO Mike Roman also said on Tuesday:

3M names new chief executive

Also on Tuesday, 3M named William "Bill" Brown its new chief executive - effective May 1st. Mike Roman, it added, will now serve as executive chairman of the New York listed firm.

$MMM revealed plans of "resetting" its dividend as well today. About 40% of its annual free cash flow will be used for dividend payments moving forward now that Solventum has been spun off.

That would translate to about $1.6 billion or $2.85 per share for 2024. Wall Street currently has a consensus "hold" rating on 3M stock.