3M Company, (
MMM) together with its subsidiaries, operates as a diversified technology company worldwide. It operates in six segments: Industrial and Transportation; Health Care; Consumer and Office; Safety, Security and Protection Services; Display and Graphics; and Electro and Communications.
3M Company is a major component of the S&P 500 and Dow Industrials indexes. The company is also a dividend aristocrat, which has been consistently increasing its dividends for 52 consecutive years. Over the past decade this dividend growth stock has delivered an annual average total return of 7.90% to its shareholders.
At the same time company has managed to deliver an impressive 7.70% average annual increase in its EPS since 2000. In 2009 earnings per share fell by 7.60% to $4.52. The expectations for 2010 are for increase EPS to almost $5.15/share and an increase in EPS to $5.69 in 2011. Over the long run however, earnings for this conglomerate are relatively diversified which is a decent buffer during recessions. As the economy rebounds, revenues and profitability would improve. The company also invests almost 6% of its revenues in research and development each year, in order to deliver new products to consumers worldwide. Future growth is expected to also come from acquisitions as well as growth in emerging markets such as China and India. Sales are increasing partly due to strong demand of coatings for TV and Computer displays as well as demand for masks in response to the H1N1 virus.
The ROE has remained largely between 29% and 38% with the exception of a temporary dip in 2001 to 23%.