Topic: How To Invest

Wall Street Stock Forecaster Hotline – Friday, April 27, 2018

Article Excerpt

3M COMPANY, $196.12, New York symbol MMM, makes over 60,000 consumer and industrial goods, including Post-It notes, Scotch tape, Scotch-Brite cleaning products, Scotchguard fabric protection and Thinsulate insulation. The company reported higher results for the first quarter of 2018. However, it has cut its full-year forecast because of slowing demand for smartphone components and automotive-related products. That caused the stock to drop 10%. In the three months ended March 31, 2018, sales rose 7.7%, to a record $8.28 billion from $7.69 billion a year earlier. That beat the consensus forecast of $8.25 billion. If you factor out currency rates and businesses that 3M bought and sold, sales improved 2.8% in the quarter. Earnings rose 15.6%, to $1.53 billion, or $2.50 a share, from $1.32 billion, or $2.16. The latest figures exclude the costs of a legal settlement and a charge related to recent changes to the U.S. tax code. On that basis, the latest earnings missed the consensus estimate of $2.51 a share. 3M now…