3M Highlights Growth Targets & Capital Deployment Plan at Investor Day

3M Company MMM highlighted its priorities and financial targets at the Investor Day conference held on Wednesday.The company’s management underlined digital transformation, product development, innovation, automation and commercial excellence efforts as the key components of its long-term value creation model. These, along with its investments in priority verticals like aerospace, electronics, automotive, data centers and energy, are expected to strengthen 3M’s capabilities to deliver impressive sales growth.3M emphasized its operational excellence priorities, which are expected to drive margin expansion, earnings growth and strong free cash flow. The company will focus on strengthening its business through strategic brand investments, reinventing its portfolio and expanding distribution and sales channels. MMM plans to accelerate growth in certain key categories, including industrial manufacturing, semiconductor, electronics and safety. Apart from reiterating its 2025 financial guidance, management also provided its adjusted outlook for 2026 and 2027.For 2025, the diversified manufacturer continues to expect adjusted earnings in the range of $7.60-$7.90 per share. The midpoint of the guided range is $7.75, which reflects an increase from earnings of $7.30 per share reported in 2024. Organic revenues are expected to grow in the band of 2-3%, higher than 1.2% in 2024.The company plans to achieve above-market organic sales growth in both 2026 and 2027. It is also focused on growing its earnings per share in high-single-digit annually over the same period. This apart, MMM plans to return at least $10 billion in cash to shareholders through dividend payouts and share buybacks and deliver an operating margin of about 25% by 2027.MMM’s Zacks Rank & Stock Price Performance3M, with a $80 billion market capitalization, currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). The company is poised to benefit from strength in the Transportation and Electronics unit, driven by strength in the transportation and aerospace markets. Strength in the roofing granules and electrical markets is aiding the Safety and Industrial unit. However, persistent softness in the retail markets, owing to tepid consumer discretionary spending, remains a concern for the Consumer segment.Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchIn the past three months, the stock has gained 11.3% against the diversified operations industry’s 3.8% decline.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 earnings per share has inched down 0.4% to $7.80 in the past 30 days.Other Stocks to ConsiderSome better-ranked stocks from the same space are discussed below.Griffon Corporation GFF presently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.GFF delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 14.7%. In the past 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Griffon’s fiscal 2025 (ending September 2025) earnings has increased 0.7% to $5.55 per share.Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. KTOS presently carries a Zacks Rank of 2. The company delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 69.2%.In the past 30 days, the consensus estimate for KTOS’ 2025 earnings has remained stable at 59 cents per share.Leonardo DRS, Inc. DRS presently carries a Zacks Rank of 2. The company delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 22.8%.In the past 30 days, the consensus estimate for DRS’ 2025 earnings has increased 1.9% to $1.09 per share.5 Stocks Set to DoubleEach was handpicked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2024. While not all picks can be winners, previous recommendations have soared +143.0%, +175.9%, +498.3% and +673.0%.Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report 3M Company (MMM): Free Stock Analysis Report Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (KTOS): Free Stock Analysis Report Griffon Corporation (GFF): Free Stock Analysis Report Leonardo DRS, Inc. (DRS): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks