3M Lifts 2026 Profit Forecast After Q3 Beat

US industrial conglomerate 3M raised its full-year profit outlook on Tuesday after third-quarter earnings came in ahead of expectations, and announced an expanded commercial tie-up with Amazon to supply optical connectivity and other products for data centres, a deal under which the e-commerce and cloud giant could earn a stake of up to 3.2 million 3M shares.

The St Paul, Minnesota-based maker of everything from adhesives to electronics materials now expects 2026 adjusted earnings per share of US$9.10 to US$9.15, up from a previous range of US$8.95 to US$9.10, according to the company’s results and call coverage by Investing.com. It also guided for adjusted organic sales growth of more than 3.5% and adjusted free cash flow of about US$4.8 billion for the year.

Margins drive the beat

For the quarter ended September, 3M posted adjusted earnings of US$2.50 a share, up 12% from US$2.23 a year earlier and above the US$2.39 consensus cited by Investing.com. On a reported (GAAP) basis, EPS jumped 70% to US$2.63, helped by an increase in the value of its remaining stake in healthcare spin-off Solventum.

Revenue was about US$6.6 billion. Adjusted sales, which exclude the manufactured PFAS products 3M is exiting, rose 4.2%, with adjusted organic growth of 3.3%. Revenue was marginally shy of analysts’ US$6.61 billion estimate, but profitability improved: the adjusted operating margin widened 110 basis points to 26.2%, while the GAAP margin rose to 23.7% from 22.2%. Adjusted free cash flow reached US$1.2 billion, and the company returned about US$0.6 billion to shareholders through dividends and buybacks.

Chairman and chief executive William Brown said the results “reinforce our confidence in the full-year outlook and long-term growth and margin potential.”

Amazon warrant tied to US$6 billion in sales

The headline strategic move was the Amazon agreement. 3M said it will deploy and scale its optical connectivity and other data centre products with Amazon, and has issued the company a warrant to buy up to 3.2 million 3M shares. The warrant vests only as cumulative purchases of those products reach US$6 billion over the next seven years, alongside other milestones. Brown told analysts the shares represent roughly 0.6% of the company, and stressed: “There’s no volume commitments here.”

Separately, 3M said it is working with Taiwan’s Genius Electronic Optical Co (GSEO) and will invest to acquire about 4.7% of its shares, deepening its push into optics for AI-driven data centres. According to BigGo Finance’s summary of the earnings call, management expects data centre-related revenue of around US$700 million this year, up from about US$550 million in 2025.

Market reaction and what’s next

Investors welcomed the update, with 3M shares rising about 4.5% in premarket trading to around US$169, Investing.com reported, from a prior close of US$162.01.

The results add to evidence that Brown’s turnaround, centred on cost discipline, new product launches and a sharper focus on high-growth markets such as electronics and data centres, is lifting margins even as top-line growth stays modest. Attention now turns to the fourth quarter, when management expects organic growth to edge above 4%, and to how quickly the Amazon partnership translates into revenue, with call commentary pointing to a ramp-up over the next two years.