3M's Stock Jumps After Profit And Sales Rise Above Expectations

Shares of 3M Co. surged 1.9% in premarket trade Tuesday, after the diversified industrial and consumer products company beat first-quarter profit and sales expectations. Net earnings rose to $1.32 billion, or $2.16 a share, from $1.28 billion, or $2.05 a share, in the same period a year ago. The FactSet consensus was for earnings per share of $2.07. Revenue increased to $7.69 billion from $7.41 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $7.49 billion, as sales of its industrial, safety and graphics, health care and electronics and energy businesses topped forecasts while consumer came up a bit shy. The company raised its 2017 outlook for local-currency sales growth outlook to 2% to 5% from 1% to 3%, and its EPS outlook to $8.70 to $9.05 from $8.45 to $8.80. The stock has rallied 8.8% year to date through Monday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained 5.1%.