Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.

In the context of Item 7A, 3M is exposed to market risk due to the risk of loss arising from adverse changes in foreign currency exchange rates, interest rates and commodity prices. Changes in those factors could cause fluctuations in earnings and cash flows. Senior management provides oversight for risk management and derivative activities, determines certain of the Company’s financial risk policies and objectives, and provides guidelines for derivative instrument utilization. Senior management also establishes certain associated procedures relative to control and valuation, risk analysis, counterparty credit approval, and ongoing monitoring and reporting.

The Company is exposed to credit loss in the event of nonperformance by counterparties in interest rate swaps, currency swaps, commodity price swaps, and forward and option contracts. However, the Company’s risk is limited to the fair value of the instruments. The Company actively monitors its exposure to credit risk through the use of credit approvals and credit limits, and by selecting major international banks and financial institutions as counterparties. The Company does not anticipate nonperformance by any of these counterparties.

Foreign Exchange Rates Risk:

Foreign currency exchange rates and fluctuations in those rates may affect the Company’s net investment in foreign subsidiaries and may cause fluctuations in cash flows related to foreign denominated transactions. 3M is also exposed to the translation of foreign currency earnings to the U.S. dollar. The Company enters into foreign exchange forward and option contracts to hedge against the effect of exchange rate fluctuations on cash flows denominated in foreign currencies. These transactions are designated as cash flow hedges. 3M may dedesignate these cash flow hedge relationships in advance of the occurrence of the forecasted transaction. The maximum length of time over which 3M hedges its exposure to the variability in future cash flows of the forecasted transactions is 36 months. In addition, 3M enters into foreign currency forward contracts that are not designated in hedging relationships to offset, in part, the impacts of certain intercompany activities (primarily associated with intercompany licensing arrangements and intercompany financing transactions). As circumstances warrant, the Company also uses foreign currency forward contracts and foreign currency denominated debt as hedging instruments to hedge portions of the Company’s net investments in foreign operations. The dollar equivalent gross notional amount of the Company’s foreign exchange forward and option contracts designated as either cash flow hedges or net investment hedges was $3.4 billion at December 31, 2018. The dollar equivalent gross notional amount of the Company’s foreign exchange forward and option contracts not designated as hedging instruments was $2.5 billion at December 31, 2018. In addition, as of December 31, 2018, the Company had 4.1 billion Euros in principal amount of foreign currency denominated debt designated as non-derivative hedging instruments in certain net investment hedges as discussed in Note 14 in the “Net Investment Hedges” section.

Interest Rates Risk:

The Company may be impacted by interest rate volatility with respect to existing debt and future debt issuances. 3M manages interest rate risk and expense using a mix of fixed and floating rate debt. In addition, the Company may enter into interest rate swaps that are designated and qualify as fair value hedges. Under these arrangements, the Company agrees to exchange, at specified intervals, the difference between fixed and floating interest amounts calculated by reference to an agreed-upon notional principal amount. The dollar equivalent (based on inception date foreign currency exchange rates) gross notional amount of the Company’s interest rate swaps at December 31, 2018 was $2.4 billion. Additional details about 3M’s long-term debt can be found in Note 12, including references to information regarding derivatives and/or hedging instruments, further discussed in Note 14, associated with the Company’s long-term debt.

Commodity Prices Risk:

The Company manages commodity price risks through negotiated supply contracts, price protection agreements and commodity price swaps. The related mark-to-market gain or loss on qualifying hedges was included in other comprehensive income to the extent effective, and reclassified into cost of sales in the period during which the hedged transaction affected earnings. The Company may enter into other commodity price swaps to offset, in part, fluctuation and costs associated with the use of certain commodities and

precious metals. These instruments are not designated in hedged relationships and the extent to which they were outstanding at December 31, 2018 was not material.

Value At Risk:

The value at risk analysis is performed annually to assess the Company’s sensitivity to changes in currency rates, interest rates, and commodity prices. A Monte Carlo simulation technique was used to test the impact on after-tax earnings related to financial instruments (primarily debt), derivatives and underlying exposures outstanding at December 31, 2018. The model (third-party bank dataset) used a 95 percent confidence level over a 12-month time horizon. The exposure to changes in currency rates model used 9 currencies, interest rates related to two currencies, and commodity prices related to five commodities. This model does not purport to represent what actually will be experienced by the Company. This model does not include certain hedge transactions, because the Company believes their inclusion would not materially impact the results. The following table summarizes the possible adverse and positive impacts to after-tax earnings related to these exposures.

In addition to the possible adverse and positive impacts discussed in the preceding table related to foreign exchange rates, recent historical information is as follows. 3M estimates that year-on-year currency effects, including hedging impacts, decreased pre-tax income by $42 million and $111 million in 2018 and 2017, respectively. This estimate includes the effect of translating profits from local currencies into U.S. dollars; the impact of currency fluctuations on the transfer of goods between 3M operations in the United States and abroad; and transaction gains and losses, including derivative instruments designed to reduce foreign currency exchange rate risks. 3M estimates that year-on-year derivative and other transaction gains and losses decreased pre-tax income by approximately $92 million and $152 million in 2018 and 2017, respectively.

An analysis of the global exposures related to purchased components and materials is performed at each year-end. A one percent price change would result in a pre-tax cost or savings of approximately $75 million per year. The global energy exposure is such that a ten percent price change would result in a pre-tax cost or savings of approximately $42 million per year. Global energy exposure includes energy costs used in 3M production and other facilities, primarily electricity and natural gas.