MMarketMath

MMM

Slow growerQuality: Medium (49/100)2 red flags

3M · Industrials · Industrial Conglomerates

$179.01

52w 139.34 – 184.90

20y monthly, adjusted

Mkt cap

$92.3B

P/E

28.4

P/FCF

66.1

FCF yield

1.5%

ROE

69.1%

Shldr yield

5.2%

div 1.7% + bb 3.5%

What today's price assumes

At $92.3B, the market is pricing in 24.1% annual free-cash-flow growth for the next decade (10% discount rate, 2.5% terminal growth). Over the last ten years, FCF actually grew -11.9% per year — the price asks for acceleration beyond the historical record.

Simple DCF per-share range: $14 · $14 · $17 (4% / base / optimistic growth). An estimate, not a target.

Adjust the assumptions yourself →

Historical multiple lens

At its own median P/OCF of 8.7× across 19 years, MMM would trade near $39/share (25th–75th percentile: $29–$43); it trades at 40.0× today.

Assumes the historical multiple regime persists — re-ratings can be permanent.

Growth record

Compound annual growth rates from as-filed 10-K data, split-adjusted

Rev 3y

−1.6%

Rev 5y

−5.0%

Rev 10y

−1.9%

EPS 5y

−8.5%

EPS 10y

−2.3%

FCF 5y

−26.7%

FCF 10y

−11.9%

Fundamentals

Fiscal 2007–2025, from SEC filings

Revenue

2007: $24.5B
2008: $25.3B
2009: $23.1B
2010: $26.7B
2011: $29.6B
2012: $29.9B
2013: $30.9B
2014: $31.8B
2015: $30.3B
2016: $30.1B
2017: $31.7B
2018: $32.8B
2019: $32.1B
2020: $32.2B
2021: $35.4B
2022: $26.2B
2023: $24.6B
2024: $24.6B
2025: $24.9B
$0$10.0B$20.0B$30.0B
07
11
15
19
23

Net income

2007: $4.1B
2008: $3.5B
2009: $3.2B
2010: $4.1B
2011: $4.3B
2012: $4.4B
2013: $4.7B
2014: $5.0B
2015: $4.8B
2016: $5.0B
2017: $4.9B
2018: $5.3B
2019: $4.5B
2020: $5.4B
2021: $5.9B
2022: $5.8B
2023: −$7.0B
2024: $4.2B
2025: $3.3B
−$5.0B$0$5.0B
07
11
15
19
23

Free cash flow

2007: $2.8B
2008: $3.1B
2009: $4.0B
2010: $4.1B
2011: $3.9B
2012: $3.8B
2013: $4.2B
2014: $5.1B
2015: $5.0B
2016: $5.2B
2017: $4.9B
2018: $4.9B
2019: $5.4B
2020: $6.6B
2021: $5.9B
2022: $3.8B
2023: $5.1B
2024: $638.0M
2025: $1.4B
$0$2.0B$4.0B$6.0B
07
11
15
19
23

Diluted shares (lower is better)

2007: 732.0M
2008: 707.2M
2009: 706.7M
2010: 725.5M
2011: 719.0M
2012: 703.3M
2013: 693.6M
2014: 662.0M
2015: 637.2M
2016: 618.7M
2017: 612.7M
2018: 602.0M
2019: 585.1M
2020: 582.2M
2021: 585.3M
2022: 567.6M
2023: 553.9M
2024: 552.4M
2025: 541.3M
0200.0M400.0M600.0M
07
11
15
19
23

Margins

-20%0%20%07101316192225
Net marginFCF marginGross margin

Capital returned (dividends + buybacks)

2007: $4.6B
2008: $3.0B
2009: $1.4B
2010: $2.4B
2011: $4.3B
2012: $3.8B
2013: $6.9B
2014: $7.9B
2015: $7.8B
2016: $6.4B
2017: $4.9B
2018: $8.1B
2019: $4.7B
2020: $3.8B
2021: $5.6B
2022: $4.8B
2023: $3.3B
2024: $3.8B
2025: $4.8B
$0$2.5B$5.0B$7.5B
07
11
15
19
23

Cash vs long-term debt

$5.0B$10.0B$15.0B07101316192225
CashLT debt

Quarterly

Discrete quarters from 10-Q filings; Q4 derived as fiscal year minus Q1–Q3. OCF is unwound from the year-to-date figures 10-Qs report. Compare to the same quarter a year ago — most businesses are seasonal.

Revenue by quarter

Q2'23: $6.3B
Q3'23: $6.3B
Q4'23: $6.0B
Q1'24: $6.0B
Q2'24: $6.3B
Q3'24: $6.3B
Q4'24: $6.0B
Q1'25: $6.0B
Q2'25: $6.3B
Q3'25: $6.5B
Q4'25: $6.1B
Q1'26: $6.0B
Q2'26: $6.5B
$0$2.0B$4.0B$6.0B
23
24
24
25
26

Net income by quarter

Q2'23: −$6.8B
Q3'23: −$2.1B
Q4'23: $945.0M
Q1'24: $928.0M
Q2'24: $1.1B
Q3'24: $1.4B
Q4'24: $728.0M
Q1'25: $1.1B
Q2'25: $723.0M
Q3'25: $834.0M
Q4'25: $577.0M
Q1'26: $653.0M
Q2'26: $933.0M
−$5.0B−$2.5B$0
23
24
24
25
26
QuarterRevenueYoYNet incomeYoYEPSOCF
Q2'26$6.5B+2.5%$933.0M+29.0%1.78$986.0M
Q1'26$6.0B+1.3%$653.0M−41.5%1.23$574.0M
Q4'25 *$6.1B+2.0%$577.0M−20.7%1.07$1.6B
Q3'25$6.5B+3.5%$834.0M−39.2%1.55$1.8B
Q2'25$6.3B+1.4%$723.0M−36.9%1.34−$954.0M
Q1'25$6.0B−1.0%$1.1B+20.3%2.04−$79.0M
Q4'24$6.0B+0.1%$728.0M−23.0%1.33$1.8B
Q3'24$6.3B+0.4%$1.4B2.48−$1.8B
Q2'24$6.3B−0.4%$1.1B2.07$1.0B
Q1'24$6.0B−0.6%$928.0M−4.9%1.67$767.0M
Q4'23$6.0B+54463.6%$945.0M+74.7%1.70$2.0B
Q3'23$6.3B−27.3%−$2.1B−153.8%-3.74$1.9B
Q2'23$6.3B−27.8%−$6.8B−8870.5%-12.35$1.5B

Track record

Compound annual growth by period. For debt and share count, negative is the good direction.

Series3y5y10y15y
Revenue−1.6%−5.0%−1.9%−0.4%
Operating cash flow−25.6%−22.2%−9.7%−5.2%
Free cash flow−28.6%−26.7%−11.9%−6.9%
EPS (diluted)−16.2%−8.5%−2.3%+0.4%
Equity−31.6%−18.2%−8.5%−7.7%
LT debt−7.9%−9.5%+2.2%+6.6%
Diluted shares−1.6%−1.4%−1.6%−1.9%
Stock price+29.5%+5.5%+5.1%+9.7%

$100, 3 years ago

$217vs $176 in SPY

29.5% vs 20.7%/yr

$100, 5 years ago

$130vs $181 in SPY

5.5% vs 12.6%/yr

$100, 10 years ago

$164vs $412 in SPY

5.1% vs 15.2%/yr

$100, 15 years ago

$403vs $813 in SPY

9.7% vs 15.0%/yr

The $1 test — market value created per $1 of earnings retained (Buffett's hurdle: at least $1)

Last 10 years

$2.98

$24.8B created / $8.3B retained

Quality & capital discipline

Cash-based returns and how management deploys capital

Cash ROIC

14.7%

OCF ÷ (equity + debt)

OCF / EV yield

2.4%

MC vs 10× OCF

4.00

≤1 = priced under 10× OCF

Debt / FCF

7.8y

SBC / FCF

16.1%

Owner earnings

$1.2B

OCF − capex − SBC

OE yield

1.3%

Share count 5y

−1.7%

per year; negative = buybacks

Capital intensity

28.5%

net PP&E ÷ revenue

Sales efficiency

new PP&E per $1 new revenue, 5y

Checklist

11 of 26 checks pass · 42%. Checks with structurally missing inputs are excluded.

Growth & Consistency

2/7

  • Revenue growth

    -5.0% · 5y CAGR ≥ 5%

    fail
  • EPS growth

    -8.5% · 5y CAGR ≥ 5%

    fail
  • FCF growth

    -26.7% · 5y CAGR ≥ 5%

    fail
  • Revenue rises consistently

    5 of 9 · up in ≥ 7 of last 10 years

    fail
  • FCF consistently positive

    10 of 10 · positive in ≥ 8 of last 10 years

    pass
  • Profitable every year

    9 of 10 · net income > 0 in ≥ 8 of last 10

    pass
  • Cash flow keeps up with sales

    -22.2% vs -5.0% · OCF CAGR ≥ 0.9× revenue CAGR

    fail

Profitability

5/6

  • Net margin

    13.0% · ≥ 8%

    pass
  • Operating margin

    18.6% · ≥ 10%

    pass
  • Gross margin stable or rising

    · no drop > 2 pts over 3y

    na
  • Return on equity

    69.1% · ≥ 12%

    pass
  • Cash ROIC

    14.7% · ≥ 12%

    pass
  • FCF margin

    5.6% · ≥ 5%

    pass
  • Earnings back their cash

    OCF $2.3B vs NI $3.3B · OCF ≥ net income (latest FY)

    fail

Balance Sheet

1/5

  • Debt payable from cash flow

    7.8y · LT debt ≤ 3× FCF

    fail
  • Cash cushion

    48% · cash ≥ 50% of LT debt

    fail
  • Leverage

    2.32 · LT debt ≤ 1.5× equity

    fail
  • Equity positive and compounding

    $4.7B · equity > 0 and grew over ~5y

    fail
  • Interest burden

    10% · interest ≤ 15% of operating income

    pass

Capital Allocation

2/4

  • Share count flat or shrinking

    -1.7% · ≤ +0.5%/yr over ~5y

    pass
  • Stock comp restrained

    16% · SBC ≤ 15% of FCF

    fail
  • Distributions funded by FCF

    345% · dividends + buybacks ≤ 100% of FCF

    fail
  • Repurchases are a habit

    10 of 10 · buybacks in ≥ 5 of last 10 years

    pass

Valuation Discipline

1/4

  • FCF yield

    1.5% · ≥ 3%

    fail
  • Earnings multiple

    28.4 · P/E ≤ 25

    fail
  • Price asks less than history delivered

    24.1% vs -11.9% · implied FCF growth ≤ historical FCF CAGR

    fail
  • Shareholder yield

    5.2% · dividends + buybacks ≥ 2% of market cap

    pass

Red flags

Mechanical checks — a flag is a question to investigate, not a verdict

Heavy debt load

Long-term debt exceeds 5 years of free cash flow.

Distributions exceed FCF

Dividends plus buybacks exceeded free cash flow in the latest fiscal year.

Financial data

As filed in 10-Ks; per-share figures split-adjusted. $ in millions.

FYRevenueGross profitOp incomeNet incomeEPSOCFCapExFCFDividendsBuybacksSBCCashLT debtEquityShares
202524,9484,6293,2506.002,3069101,3961,5623,2512255,23510,9324,702541
202424,5754,8224,1737.551,8191,1816381,9821,8012895,60011,1253,842552
202324,610-10,689-6,995-12.636,6801,6155,0653,311332745,93313,0884,807554
202226,1614,3695,77710.185,5911,7493,8423,3691,4642633,65514,00114,722568
202135,3557,3695,92110.127,4541,6035,8513,4202,1992744,56416,05615,046585
202032,1847,1615,4499.368,1131,5016,6123,3883682624,63417,98912,867582
201932,1366,1744,5177.727,0701,6995,3713,3161,40727817,51810,063585
201832,7657,2075,3498.896,4391,5774,8623,1934,8703022,85313,4119,796602
201731,6577,6924,8587.936,2401,3734,8672,8032,0683243,05312,09611,563613
201630,1097,0275,0508.166,6621,4205,2422,6783,7532982,39810,67810,298619
201530,2746,9464,8337.586,4201,4614,9592,5615,2382761,7988,75311,429637
201431,8217,1354,9567.496,6261,4935,1332,2165,6522801,8976,70513,109662
201330,8716,6664,6596.725,8171,6654,1521,7305,2122402,5814,32617,502694
201229,9046,4834,4446.325,3001,4843,8161,6352,2042232,8834,91617,575703
201129,6116,1784,2835.965,2841,3793,9051,5552,7012532,2194,48415,420719
201026,6625,9184,0855.635,1741,0914,0831,5008542743,3774,18315,663726
200923,1234,8143,1934.524,9419034,0381,431172173,0405,09712,764707
200825,2695,2183,4604.894,5331,4713,0621,3981,6312021,8495,1669,880707
200724,4626,1934,0965.604,2461,4222,8241,3803,2392281,89612,072732

Some concepts are structurally absent for certain industries (banks report no gross profit or capex). Missing ≠ zero.