Can 3M Continue Its Strong Capital Returns to Shareholders?

3M Company MMM operates as a diversified technology firm with a strong presence across industrial, electrical, transportation, consumer and home care markets. It has manufacturing operations across the globe and serves a diversified customer base.

The company’s commitment to reward its shareholders through dividends and share buybacks is encouraging. In the first six months of 2026, the company rewarded its shareholders with $813 million in dividends and $3 billion in buybacks. Also, in 2025, it paid dividends worth $1.6 billion and repurchased shares for about $3.3 billion. 

Its worth noting that in February 2025, 3M's board authorized a share repurchase program of up to $7.5 billion, replacing the November 2018 program. This authorization has no expiration date. Exiting the second quarter of 2026, 3M had approximately $1.8 billion remaining under its share repurchase program. Also, in February 2026, it hiked its quarterly dividend by 6.8%.

For 2026, 3M expects total revenue growth (on an adjusted basis) to be above 4.5%. It expects its adjusted free cash flow conversion rate to be more than 100%, with adjusted operating cash flow of $5.8-$6.0 billion. The company’s focus on maintaining strong liquidity should support its shareholder-friendly policies.

Do MMM’s Peers Focus on Returning Capital to Shareholders?

GE Aerospace GE repurchased shares for $4.2 billion and paid dividends of $873 million to its shareholders in the first half of 2026.  GE Aerospace also raised its dividend by 30.6% to 36 cents per share in February 2026. GE expects to generate a free cash flow of $8.9-$9.2 billion in 2026, much higher than $8.0-$8.4 billion guided previously.

Howmet Aerospace HWM paid dividends of $97 million in the first six months of 2026, and in July 2026, it hiked its dividend by 17% to 14 cents per share (annually: 56 cents). On a year-to-date basis through July, HWM repurchased shares worth $800 million. As of Aug. 6, 2026, Howmet’s total share repurchase authorization available was $697 million.

The Zacks Rundown for MMM

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Shares of 3M have gained 3.6% in the past year against the industry’s decline of 27.8%.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

From a valuation standpoint, 3M is trading at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 16.98X, above the industry average of 14.35X. MMM carries a Value Score of D.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MMM’s earnings for 2026 and 2027 has increased 2.5% and 4%, respectively, in the past 60 days.

MMM stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days

Just released: Experts distill 7 elite stocks from the current list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys. They deem these tickers "Most Likely for Early Price Pops."

Since 1988, the full list has beaten the market more than 2X over with an average gain of +23.9% per year. So be sure to give these hand picked 7 your immediate attention. 

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

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research