3M 10-Q 2021-09-30

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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE

SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the quarterly period ended September 30, 2021

Commission file number: 1-3285

3M COMPANY

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Note: The common stock of the Registrant is also traded on the SWX Swiss Exchange.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.:

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for

complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☒

Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the issuer’s classes of common stock, as of the latest practicable date.

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3M COMPANY

Form 10-Q for the Quarterly Period Ended September 30, 2021

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3M COMPANY

FORM 10-Q

For the Quarterly Period Ended September 30, 2021

PART I. Financial Information

3M Company and Subsidiaries

Consolidated Statement of Income

(Unaudited)

The accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements are an integral part of this statement.

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3M Company and Subsidiaries

Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income

(Unaudited)

The accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements are an integral part of this statement.

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3M Company and Subsidiaries

Consolidated Balance Sheet

(Unaudited)

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Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (MD&A) is designed to provide a reader of 3M’s financial statements with a narrative from the perspective of management. 3M’s MD&A is presented in the following sections:

• Overview

• Results of Operations

• Performance by Business Segment

• Financial Condition and Liquidity

• Cautionary Note Concerning Factors That May Affect Future Results

Forward-looking statements in Part I, Item 2 may involve risks and uncertainties that could cause results to differ materially from those projected (refer to the section entitled “Cautionary Note Concerning Factors That May Affect Future Results” in Part I, Item 2 and the risk factors provided in Part II, Item 1A for discussion of these risks and uncertainties).

OVERVIEW

3M is a diversified global manufacturer, technology innovator and marketer of a wide variety of products and services. Effective in the first quarter of 2021, 3M made the following changes. Information provided herein reflects the impact of these changes for all periods presented.

• Change in accounting principle for net periodic pension and postretirement plan cost. See detailed discussion in Note 1.

• Change in measure of segment operating performance used by 3M’s chief operating decision maker—impacting 3M’s disclosed measure of segment profit/loss (business segment operating income). See additional information in Note 16.

• Change in alignment of certain products within 3M’s Consumer business segment—creating the Consumer Health and Safety Division. See additional information in Note 16.

3M manages its operations in four operating business segments: Safety and Industrial; Transportation and Electronics; Health Care; and Consumer. From a geographic perspective, any references to EMEA refer to Europe, Middle East and Africa on a combined basis.

Consideration of COVID-19:

As described in the Overview—Consideration of COVID-19 section of Part II, Item 7 of the Company’s 2020 Annual Report on Form 10-K, 3M is impacted by the global pandemic and related effects associated with the coronavirus (COVID-19). In addition, risk factors with respect to COVID-19, can be found in Item 1A “Risk Factors” in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. Given the diversity of 3M’s businesses, some of the factors described in that Overview—Consideration of COVID-19

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section have increased the demand for 3M products, while others have decreased demand or made it more difficult for 3M to serve customers.

Overall, 3M experienced broad-based growth across all business segments and geographic areas in the third quarter of 2021, benefiting from continued improvements in certain end markets including home improvement and general industrial. 3M’s total sales increased 7.1% and increased 13.3% year-on-year in the third quarter and first nine months of 2021, respectively. Organic local-currency sales increased 6.3% and increased 11.5% year-on-year in the third quarter and first nine months of 2021, respectively. 3M experienced the strongest third quarter sales growth in Consumer and Safety and Industrial. COVID-related respirator sales negatively impacted year-on-year third quarter organic-local currency sales growth by approximately 0.5 percent as they grew at a slower rate than the rest of the Company. For the first nine months of 2021, they positively impacted year-on-year organic-local currency sales growth by approximately 0.3 percent. Given the diversity of 3M's businesses, the impact of COVID-19 varied across the Company. In the first nine months of 2020, 3M experienced strong sales in personal safety, as well as in other areas such as home improvement, general cleaning, semiconductor, data center, and biopharma filtration while businesses aligned to general industrial applications with strength in abrasives and industrial adhesives and tapes. At the same time, weakness in several end markets, while improving, contributed in part to sales declines in a number of 3M's businesses such as oral care, automotive and aerospace, advanced materials, commercial solutions, stationery and office, automotive aftermarket.

3M’s operating income margins decreased 2.9 percentage points in the third quarter and decreased 1.0 percentage points in the first nine months of 2021 year-on-year. Factoring out the impact on operating income of special items as described in the Certain amounts adjusted for special items - (non-GAAP measures) section below, operating income margins decreased 2.9 and increased 0.3 percentage points to 20.0 and 21.5 percent for the third quarter and first nine months of 2021, respectively, when compared to 2020. Various COVID-19 implications contributed in part to these results.

Overall, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on 3M’s consolidated results of operations was primarily driven by factors related to changes in demand for products and disruption in global supply chains as described or referenced above. While it is not feasible to identify or quantify all the other direct and indirect implications on 3M’s results of operations, below are factors that 3M believes have also affected its results for third quarter and first nine months of 2021 when compared to 2020:

Factors contributing to charges or other impacts:

• Increased raw materials and logistics costs from ongoing COVID-19 and Delta variant related global supply chain challenges further magnified by extreme weather events, such as February 2021 winter storm Uri in the United States.

• Period expenses of unabsorbed manufacturing costs and increased expected credit losses on customer receivables in 2020.

• Restructuring actions addressing structural enterprise costs and operations in certain end markets as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and related economic impact resulting in a second quarter 2020 charge of $58 million.

• Committed financial support in 2020 to various COVID-relief and medical research initiatives.

• Charge of $22 million in the first quarter of 2020 related to equity securities as discussed in the “Assets and Liabilities that are Measured at Fair Value on a Nonrecurring Basis” section of Note 13 that use the measurement alternative described therein in addition to an immaterial pre-tax charge related to impairment of certain indefinite lived tradenames.

Factors providing benefits or other impacts:

• Cost management in discretionary spending in areas such as travel, professional services, and advertising/merchandising resulting in lower spending in 2020.

• Continued productivity efforts, including year-on-year savings from restructuring actions taken in 2020.

• Government-sponsored COVID-response stimulus and relief initiatives in 2020, including certain employee retention benefits under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act in the United States.

• Lower incentive compensation and self-insured medical visit/insurance expense in 2020.

• Accelerated vacation usage policies in the second quarter of 2020 which benefited the second quarter of 2020, but provided a penalty in the second half of 2020.

Refer to the Financial Condition and Liquidity section below for more information on the Company’s liquidity position.

Due to the speed with which the COVID-19 situation continues to develop and evolve and the uncertainty of its duration and the timing of recovery, 3M is not able at this time to predict the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic may have a material effect on its consolidated results of operations or financial condition.

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Operating income margin and earnings per share attributable to 3M common shareholders – diluted:

The following table provides the increases (decreases) in operating income margins and diluted earnings per share for the

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In the context of Item 3, 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 impact the Company’s results of operations and financial condition. For a discussion of sensitivity analysis related to these types of market risks, refer to Part II, Item 7A, Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk, in 3M’s 2020 Annual Report on Form 10-K. There have been no material changes in information that would have been provided in the context of Item 3 from the end of the preceding year until September 30, 2021. However, the Company does provide risk management discussion in various places in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, primarily in the Derivatives note.

a. The Company carried out an evaluation, under the supervision and with the participation of its management, including the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, of the effectiveness of the design and operation of the Company’s “disclosure controls and procedures” (as defined in the Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(e)) as of the end of the period covered by this report. Based upon that evaluation, the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures are effective.

b. There was no change in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the Company’s most recently completed fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

The Company is implementing an enterprise resource planning (“ERP”) system on a worldwide basis, which is expected to improve the efficiency of certain financial and related transaction processes. The gradual implementation is expected to occur in phases over the next several years. The implementation of a worldwide ERP system will likely affect the processes that constitute the Company’s internal control over financial reporting and will require testing for effectiveness.

The Company completed implementation with respect to various processes/sub-processes in certain subsidiaries/locations, including aspects relative to the United States, and will continue to roll out the ERP system over the next several years. As with any new information technology application the Company implements, this application, along with the internal controls over financial reporting included in this process, was appropriately considered within the testing for effectiveness with respect to the implementation in these instances. The Company concluded, as part of its evaluation described in the above paragraphs, that the

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implementation of the ERP system in these circumstances has not materially affected its internal control over financial reporting.

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3M COMPANY

FORM 10-Q

For the Quarterly Period Ended September 30, 2021

PART II. Other Information

Item 1. Legal Proceedings.

Discussion of legal matters is incorporated by reference from Part I, Item 1, Note 14, “Commitments and Contingencies” of this document, and should be considered an integral part of Part II, Item 1, “Legal Proceedings.”

Provided below is a cautionary discussion of what we believe to be the most important risk factors applicable to the Company. Discussion of these factors is incorporated by reference into and considered an integral part of Part I, Item 2, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Conditions and Results of Operations.”

Risks Related to the Global Economy and Public Health Crises

** The Company’s results are impacted by the effects of, and changes in, worldwide economic, political, regulatory, international trade and other external conditions.*

The Company operates in more than 70 countries and derives approximately 60 percent of its revenues from outside the United States, and, accordingly, the Company’s business is subject to global competition and geopolitical risks that are beyond its control, such as disruptions in financial markets, economic downturns, government actions impacting international trade agreements, imposing trade restrictions such as tariffs, and retaliatory counter measures, inflation, government deficit reduction and other austerity measures in specific countries or regions, or in the various industries in which the Company operates; social, political or labor conditions in specific countries or regions; or adverse changes in the availability and cost of capital, interest rates, or exchange control, ability to expatriate earnings and other regulations in the jurisdictions in which the Company operates. Climate change, as well as related environmental and social regulations, may negatively impact the Company or its customers and suppliers, in terms of availability and cost of natural resources, sources and supply of energy, product demand and manufacturing, and the health and well-being of individuals and communities in which we operate.

** The Company is subject to risks related to public health crises such as the global pandemic associated with* the coronavirus (COVID-19).

3M, as a global company, is impacted by public health crises such as the global pandemic associated with COVID-19. The outbreak has significantly increased economic and demand uncertainty. In addition, public and private sector policies and initiatives to reduce the transmission of COVID-19, such as the imposition of travel restrictions, the adoption of remote working, and government-ordered vaccine mandates, have impacted and will continue to impact 3M’s operations. In these challenging and dynamic circumstances, 3M continues to work to protect its employees and the public, maintain business continuity and sustain its operations, including ensuring the safety and protection of approximately 50,000 people who work in our plants and distribution centers across the world, many of whom support the manufacturing and delivery of products that are critical in response to the global pandemic. COVID-19 has impacted 3M’s supply chains relative to global demand for products like respirators, surgical masks and commercial cleaning solutions. Within individual regions and countries around the world, 3M is working with governments, distributors and others to prioritize supplies to the most critical customer and public health needs. In addition, trade barriers, export restrictions and other similar measures imposed by national governments also negatively impact the supplies of personal protection equipment including those made by 3M going into the most needed areas. COVID-19 has also affected the ability of suppliers and vendors to provide products and services to 3M. Some of these COVID-related factors have increased demand for certain 3M products, while others have decreased demand from certain end markets or could make it more difficult for 3M to serve customers. 3M has received reports of price gouging, counterfeiting and other illegal or fraudulent activities involving its N95 respirators, has taken legal action in several states and continues to work with state, federal and international law enforcement to protect the public and 3M against those who seek to exploit 3M’s brand and reputation and defraud others. Furthermore, COVID-19 has impacted and may further impact the broader economies of affected countries, including negatively impacting economic growth, the proper functioning of financial and capital markets, foreign currency exchange rates, and interest rates. For example, COVID-19 has led to disruption and volatility in the global capital markets, which increases the cost of capital and could adversely impact access to capital. As economies start to reopen in certain parts of the world, workplace safety, for the Company and others, will increasingly become a focus of concern. As part of the return to work process at the Company, the Company could face additional privacy and data security risks in various

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countries related to the collection of data regarding employees and contractors with respect to COVID-19 testing, temperature checks, contact tracing, and vaccination status. Due to the speed and scope with which the COVID situation is developing and evolving and the uncertainty of its duration and the timing of recovery, 3M is not able at this time to predict the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic may have a material effect on its consolidated results of operations or financial condition.

** Foreign currency exchange rates and fluctuations in those rates may affect the Company’s ability to realize projected growth rates in its sales and earnings.*

Because the Company’s financial statements are denominated in U.S. dollars and approximately 60 percent of the Company’s revenues are derived from outside the United States, the Company’s results of operations and its ability to realize projected growth rates in sales and earnings could be adversely affected if the U.S. dollar strengthens significantly against foreign currencies.

Risks Related to Legal and Regulatory Proceedings

• The Company faces liabilities related to certain fluorochemicals, which could adversely impact our results.

As previously reported, the Company has been voluntarily cooperating with various local, state, federal (primarily the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)), and international agencies in their review of the environmental and health effects of a broad group of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances produced by the Company, collectively known as “PFAS.” The PFAS group contains several categories and classes of durable chemicals and materials with properties that include oil, water, temperature, chemical and fire resistance, as well as electrical insulating properties. The strength of the carbon-fluorine bond also means that these compounds do not easily degrade. These characteristics have made PFAS critical to the manufacture of electronic devices such as cell phones, tablets and semi-conductors. They are also used to help prevent infections in products like surgical gowns and drapes. Commercial aircraft and low-emissions vehicles also rely on PFAS technology. PFAS compounds are manufactured by various companies, including 3M, and are used in everyday products. As science and technology evolve and advance, and in response to evolving knowledge and the understanding that PFAS compounds had the potential to build up over time, 3M announced in 2000 that we would voluntarily phase out production of perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) globally as a precautionary measure. We phased out of materials used to produce certain repellants and surfactant products, with most of these activities in the U.S. completed by the end of 2002. Phased out products included Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) and coatings for food packaging, for example. 3M currently is defending lawsuits concerning various PFAS-related products and chemistries, and is subject to unasserted and asserted claims and governmental regulatory proceedings and inquiries related to the production and use of PFAS in a variety of jurisdictions, as discussed in Note 14, “Commitments and Contingencies,” within the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements. An adverse outcome in any one or more of these matters could be material to our financial results. For example, we recorded a pre-tax charge of $897 million, inclusive of legal fees and other related obligations, in the first quarter of 2018 with respect to the settlement of a matter brought by the State of Minnesota involving the presence of PFAS in the groundwater, surface water, fish or other aquatic life, and sediments in the state. Governmental inquiries or lawsuits involving PFAS could lead to our incurring liability for damages or other costs, civil or criminal proceedings, the imposition of fines and penalties, or other remedies, as well as restrictions on or added costs for our business operations going forward, including in the form of restrictions on discharges at our manufacturing facilities or otherwise.

** The Company’s future results may be affected by various asserted and unasserted legal and regulatory proceedings and legal compliance risks, including those involving product liability, antitrust, intellectual property, environmental, tax, the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other anti-bribery laws, U.S. trade sanctions compliance, regulations of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and similar foreign agencies, U.S. federal healthcare program-related laws and regulations including the False Claims Act, anti-kickback laws, the Sunshine Act, or other matters.* Legal compliance risks also include third-party risks where the Company’s suppliers, vendors or channel partners have business practices that are inconsistent with 3M’s Supplier Responsibility Code, 3M performance requirements or with legal requirements.

The outcome of these legal proceedings may differ from the Company’s expectations because the outcomes of litigation, including regulatory matters, are often difficult to reliably predict. Although the Company maintains general liability insurance, the amount of liability that may result from certain of these risks may not always be covered by, or could exceed, the applicable insurance coverage. Various factors or developments can lead the Company to change current estimates of liabilities and related insurance receivables where applicable, or make such estimates for matters previously not susceptible of reasonable estimates, such as a significant judicial ruling or judgment, a significant settlement, significant regulatory developments or changes in applicable law. A future adverse ruling, settlement or unfavorable development could result in future charges that could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s results of operations or cash flows in any particular period. In addition, negative

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publicity related to product liability, environmental, health and safety or other matters referenced above involving the Company may negatively impact the Company’s reputation. For a more detailed discussion of the legal proceedings involving the Company and the associated accounting estimates, see the discussion in Note 14, “Commitments and Contingencies,” within the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

Risks Related to Our Products and Customer Preferences

** The Company’s results are affected by competitive conditions and customer preferences.*

Demand for the Company’s products, which impacts revenue and profit margins, is affected by (i) the development and timing of the introduction of competitive products; (ii) the Company’s response to downward pricing to stay competitive; (iii) changes in customer order patterns, such as changes in the levels of inventory maintained by customers and the timing of customer purchases which may be affected by announced price changes, changes in the Company’s incentive programs, or the customer’s ability to achieve incentive goals; (iv) changes in customers’ preferences for our products, including the success of products offered by our competitors, and changes in customer designs for their products that can affect the demand for some of the Company’s products; and (v) changes in the business environment related to disruptive technologies, such as artificial intelligence, block-chain, expanded analytics and other enhanced learnings from increasing volume of available data.

** The Company’s growth objectives are largely dependent on the timing and market acceptance of its new product offerings, including its ability to continually renew its pipeline of new products and to bring those products to market.*

This ability is subject to difficulties or delays in product development, such as the inability to identify viable new products, obtain adequate intellectual property protection, or gain market acceptance of new products. There are no guarantees that new products will prove to be commercially successful.

** The Company’s future results are subject to vulnerability with respect to materials and fluctuations in the costs and availability of purchased components, compounds, raw materials, energy, and labor due to shortages, increased demand and wages, logistics, supply chain interruptions, manufacturing site disruptions, natural disasters and other disruptive factors.*

The Company depends on various components, compounds, raw materials, and energy (including oil and natural gas and their derivatives) supplied by others for the manufacturing of its products. Supplier relationships have been and could be interrupted in the future due to supplier material shortage, climate impacts, natural and other disasters and other disruptive events, or be terminated. Any sustained interruption in the Company’s receipt of adequate supplies or disruption to key manufacturing sites’ operations due to natural and other disasters or events could have a material adverse effect on the Company. In addition, while the Company has a process to minimize volatility in component and material pricing, no assurance can be given that the Company will be able to successfully manage price fluctuations or that future price fluctuations or shortages will not have a material adverse effect on the Company.

Risks Related to Our Business

** The Company employs information technology systems to support its business, including ongoing phased implementation of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system as part of business transformation on a worldwide basis over the next several years. Security breaches and other disruptions to the Company’s information technology infrastructure could interfere with the Company’s operations, compromise information belonging to the Company or its customers, suppliers, and employees, exposing the Company to liability which could adversely impact the Company’s business and reputation.*

In the ordinary course of business, the Company relies on centralized and local information technology networks and systems, some of which are provided, hosted or managed by vendors and other third parties, to process, transmit and store electronic information, and to manage or support a variety of businesses. Additionally, the Company collects and stores certain data, including proprietary business information, and has access to confidential or personal information in certain of our businesses that is subject to privacy and cybersecurity laws, regulations and customer-imposed controls. Despite our cybersecurity and business continuity measures (including employee and third-party training, monitoring of networks and systems, patching, maintenance, and backup of systems and data), the Company’s information technology networks and infrastructure are still potentially vulnerable to the security risks of our vendors and third-party service providers, security breaches, damage, disruptions or shutdowns due to attacks by threat actors including nation-state actors, computer viruses, hardware, software, and system vulnerabilities, ransomware, service or cloud provider disruptions or security breaches, employee error or malfeasance, power outages, telecommunication or utility failures, systems failures, natural disasters or other catastrophic events. The Company’s increased adoption of remote working, initially driven by the pandemic, may also introduce additional threats to our

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information technology networks and infrastructure. Despite our cybersecurity measures, it is possible for security vulnerabilities to remain undetected for an extended time period, up to and including several years. While we have experienced, and expect to continue to experience, threats and disruptions to the Company’s information technology infrastructure, none of them to date has had a material impact to the Company. Any such threats or disruptions could result in legal claims or proceedings, disclosures to regulators, liability or penalties under privacy laws, interference with the Company’s operations, and damage to the Company’s reputation, which could adversely affect the Company’s business. Although the Company maintains insurance coverage for various cybersecurity and business continuity risks, there can be no guarantee that all costs or losses incurred will be fully insured.

** Acquisitions, strategic alliances, divestitures, and other unusual events resulting from portfolio management actions and other evolving business strategies, and possible organizational restructuring could affect future results.*

The Company monitors its business portfolio and organizational structure and has made and may continue to make acquisitions, strategic alliances, divestitures and changes to its organizational structure. With respect to acquisitions, including, for example, the acquisition of Acelity, Inc. and its KCI subsidiaries (a leading global medical technology company), future results will be affected by the Company’s ability to integrate acquired businesses quickly and obtain the anticipated synergies. The Company realigned from five to four business segments, effective in April of 2019, to better serve its global customers and markets. Successful execution of the realignment and the associated adjustments of our portfolio and business operating model, as well as other organizational changes, will be important to the Company’s future results.

** The Company’s future results may be affected by its operational execution, including scenarios where the Company generates fewer productivity improvements than estimated.*

The Company’s financial results depend on the successful execution of its business operating plans. The Company utilizes various tools, such as Lean Six Sigma, and engages in ongoing global business transformation. Business transformation is defined as changes in processes and internal/external service delivery across 3M to move to more efficient business models to improve operational efficiency and productivity, while allowing 3M to serve customers with greater speed and efficiency. This is enabled by the ongoing multi-year phased implementation of an ERP system. There can be no assurance that all of the projected productivity improvements will be realized. In addition, the ability to adapt to business model and other changes and agility to respond to customer needs and service expectations are important, which, if not done successfully, could negatively impact the Company’s ability to win new business and enhance revenue and 3M’s brand. Operational challenges, including those related to customer service, pace of change and productivity improvements, could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial conditions and results of operations.

Risks Related to Financial and Capital Markets and Tax Matters

** The Company's defined benefit pension and postretirement plans are subject to financial market risks that could adversely impact our results.*

The performance of financial markets and discount rates impact the Company's funding obligations under its defined benefit plans. Significant changes in market interest rates, decreases in the fair value of plan assets and investment losses on plan assets, and legislative or regulatory changes relating to defined benefit plan funding may increase the Company's funding obligations and adversely impact its results of operations and cash flows.

** Change in the Company’s credit ratings could increase cost of funding.*

The Company’s credit ratings are important to 3M’s cost of capital. The major rating agencies routinely evaluate the Company’s credit profile and assign debt ratings to 3M. This evaluation is based on a number of factors, which include financial strength, business and financial risk, as well as transparency with rating agencies and timeliness of financial reporting. 3M currently has an A1 credit rating with a negative outlook from Moody’s Investors Service and an A+ credit rating with a negative outlook from Standard & Poor’s. The Company’s credit ratings have served to lower 3M’s borrowing costs and facilitate access to a variety of lenders. The addition of further leverage to the Company’s capital structure could impact 3M’s credit ratings in the future. Failure to maintain strong investment grade ratings would adversely affect the Company’s cost of funding and could adversely affect liquidity and access to capital markets.

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** Changes in tax rates, laws or regulations could adversely impact our financial results.*

The Company’s business is subject to tax-related external conditions, such as tax rates, tax laws and regulations, changing political environments in the U.S. and foreign jurisdictions that impact tax examination, assessment and enforcement approaches. In addition, changes in tax laws including further regulatory developments arising from U.S. tax reform legislation and/or regulations around the world could result in a tax expense or benefit recorded to the Company’s Consolidated Statement of Earnings. In connection with the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Integrated Framework provided by Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), determination of multi-jurisdictional taxation rights and the rate of tax applicable to certain types of income may be subject to potential change. Due to uncertainty of the regulation changes and other tax-related factors stated above, it is currently not possible to assess the ultimate impact of these actions on our financial statements.

Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Repurchases of 3M common stock are made to support the Company’s stock-based employee compensation plans and for other corporate purposes. In November 2018, 3M’s Board of Directors replaced the Company’s February 2016 repurchase program with a new repurchase program. This new program authorizes the repurchase of up to $10 billion of 3M’s outstanding common stock, with no pre-established end date.

Issuer Purchases of Equity

Securities (registered pursuant to

Section 12 of the Exchange Act)

(1)The total number of shares purchased includes: (i) shares purchased under the Board’s authorizations described above, and (ii) shares purchased in connection with the exercise of stock options.

(2)The total number of shares purchased as part of publicly announced plans or programs includes shares purchased under the Board’s authorizations described above.

Item 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities. — No matters require disclosure.

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Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures. Pursuant to Section 1503 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Act”), the Company is required to disclose, in connection with the mines it operates, information concerning mine safety violations or other regulatory matters in its periodic reports filed with the SEC. The information concerning mine safety violations or other regulatory matters required by Section 1503(a) of the Act is included in Exhibit 95 to this quarterly report.

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

3M COMPANY

(Registrant)