3M Co (NYSE:MMM) reported first-quarter earnings that topped Wall Street expectations, as margin improvement and cost controls helped offset slightly weaker-than-expected revenue.
The industrial conglomerate posted adjusted earnings per share of $2.14 for the quarter, above analysts’ estimate of $1.98 and up 14% from a year earlier.
Revenue came in at $6 billion, narrowly missing estimates of $6.01 billion, while organic sales grew 1.2% year-over-year.
Adjusted operating margin expanded 30 basis points to 23.8%, reflecting ongoing efficiency efforts and portfolio changes.
3M maintained its full-year adjusted earnings forecast of $8.50 to $8.70 per share, broadly in line with expectations at the midpoint. The company also reiterated its outlook for approximately 4% total sales growth and around 3% organic growth, alongside projected operating margin expansion of 70 to 80 basis points.
Adjusted operating cash flow is expected to range between $5.6 billion and $5.8 billion, with free cash flow conversion above 100%.
“We are executing on 3M's value creation framework to build a stronger company,” CEO William Brown said in a statement.
“Our focus remains on improving execution of the fundamentals and transforming the company by simplifying and standardizing our processes and footprint and reshaping the portfolio.”
On a reported basis, the company generated $0.6 billion in cash from operations and $0.5 billion in adjusted free cash flow during the quarter.
Shares of 3M were down over 1% on Tuesday morning.