3M Co (NYSE:MMM) released its earnings report for the three months through July 39 this morning before the market closed. The company showed earnings per share of $1.71 for the quarter on revenue totaling $7.75. On Wednesday, shares in 3M Co (NYSE:MMM) traded down a fraction to close the day at $116.33.
Analysts following 3M Co were looking for earnings of $1.70 per share from this morning’s earnings report by consensus. Consensus revenue estimates for the second quarter came in at $7.8 billion. The second quarter of last year saw the company earn $1.66 per share on revenue of $7.5 billion. 3M Co (NYSE:MMM) has seen shares grow solidly for the last two years.
3M at all time high
3M Co will open on today’s market at just under its all time high price of $117.30. It would take a brave investor to bet against the diversified technology company in any sustained way. The firm has added more than 23% to the value of its shares so far in 2013, and it hasn’t seen a sizable fall since European worries hit it hard back in 2011.
Even after all of the good faith investors have in 3M Co (NYSE:MMM) has been accounted for, the company is trading for a reasonably low P/E of a little over 18. The company is expected to continue growing its earnings in the coming years, with analysts estimating $6.71 per share in 2013 and $7.34 per share in 2014. Last year the company managed to earn $6.32.
3M Co (NYSE:MMM) will host an earnings call to discuss these numbers at 8 am CT in order to discuss this morning’s earnings. Investors and analysts alike will want to question the company’s outlook in the face of a slowing Chinese economy and a struggling European one. Analysts may also be interested in how the changes in the computing industry will affect the company’s trajectory in the medium term future.
