Shares of 3M Co. climbed 1.5% toward a two-year high in premarket trading Tuesday, after the consumer, health care and industrial products company, which makes Post-it Notes and N95 face masks, reported first-quarter profit and revenue that beat expectations, and affirmed its full-year outlook. Net income increased to $1.62 billion, or $2.77 a share, from $1.31 billion, or $2.27 a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share of $2.77 was well above the FactSet consensus of $2.29 a share. Sales rose 9.6% to $8.85 billion, beating the FactSet consensus of $8.44 billion. Health care sales rose 6.8% to $2.2 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $2.17 billion; safety and industrial sales grew 13.7% to $3.3 billion, topping expectations of $3.19 billion; consumer sales increased 9.8% to $1.4 billion, above expectations of $1.34 billion; and transportation and electronics sales rose 13.1% to $2.5 billion, compared with expectations of $2.32 billion. “Our four industry-leading businesses are delivering strong results, while we accelerate 3M’s digital transformation and sustainability efforts with significant new goals to improve air and water quality,” said Chief Executive Mike Roman. For 2021, 3M affirmed its EPS guidance range $9.20 to $9.70 and its sales growth outlook of positive growth of 5% to 8%. The stock has climbed 7.0% over the past three months through Monday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained 12.1%.
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