3M Company

What does 3M own?
3M owns a portfolio of approximately 60,000 products across four business segments: Safety and Industrial, Transportation and Electronics, Health Care, and Consumer. Its most recognized consumer brands include Post-it Notes, Scotch Tape, Command adhesive strips, and Nexcare first aid products. The company also owns industrial brands in abrasives, adhesives, safety equipment, and specialty films.

Is 3M publicly traded?
Yes, 3M is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol MMM. The company has been publicly traded since 1946 and is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, making it one of the most widely tracked industrial stocks in the United States.

Who founded 3M?
3M was founded in 1902 by five investors: John Dwan, Hermon Cable, Henry Bryan, William McGonagle, and Dr. J. Danley Budd. The company was originally established to mine corundum in Two Harbors, Minnesota, but pivoted to manufacturing abrasives and adhesive products after the mineral deposits proved commercially unviable.

Where is 3M headquartered?
3M is headquartered in Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA. The company has operated from Saint Paul since the early 1900s and maintains its global corporate headquarters, major research facilities, and significant manufacturing operations in the Twin Cities metropolitan area.

How many brands does 3M own?
3M manufactures approximately 60,000 products across its four business segments. The company operates primarily under the 3M master brand, with notable sub brands including Post-it, Scotch, Command, Nexcare, Scotch-Brite, Filtrete, Peltor, and Littmann.

Who owns 3M?
3M is publicly owned with no controlling shareholder. Institutional investors collectively hold the majority of outstanding shares, with Vanguard Group, BlackRock, and State Street Global Advisors among the largest holders. No individual, family, or private equity firm holds a controlling interest in the company.

What is 3M's revenue?
3M reported full year 2025 adjusted sales of $24.3 billion, with GAAP sales of $24.9 billion. Adjusted earnings per share were $8.06 for FY2025, up 10% year over year. The company has guided for adjusted EPS of $8.50 to $8.90 for full year 2026.

What is the PFAS litigation against 3M?
3M has faced extensive litigation related to per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) used in its products. In 2023, the company settled with U.S. public water systems for approximately $10.3 billion and separately settled with the U.S. Department of Defense for approximately $6 billion over defective military earplugs. Ongoing PFAS related claims in various jurisdictions continue to represent a material legal liability for the company.

3M was founded on June 13, 1902, in Two Harbors, Minnesota, by five investors: John Dwan, Hermon Cable, Henry Bryan, William McGonagle, and Dr. J. Danley Budd. The original business plan was to mine corundum, a hard mineral used in abrasive products, from a deposit near Two Harbors. The mineral proved to be of low commercial quality, and the company was forced to pivot before it had generated meaningful revenue.

The founders relocated operations first to Duluth and then to Saint Paul, Minnesota, where the company began manufacturing sandpaper using imported abrasive materials. Early years were financially precarious; the company nearly failed multiple times before finding stable footing in the sandpaper business. A critical early investor, Lucius Ordway, provided capital that allowed the company to survive its first decade.

The 1920s marked 3M's transformation into an innovation driven manufacturer. In 1921, researcher Francis Okie developed a waterproof sandpaper that could be used wet, solving a major problem in automotive body refinishing. The product, sold as Wetordry sandpaper, became 3M's first major commercial success. In 1925, 3M engineer Richard Drew invented masking tape after observing the difficulties automotive painters had with clean paint lines. This invention launched 3M's adhesive tape business, which would become one of the company's most durable revenue streams.

In 1930, Drew developed Scotch Brand transparent tape, which became one of the most widely recognized consumer products in the world. The timing was significant: the product launched during the Great Depression, when consumers were repairing rather than replacing household items. Scotch tape became a household staple and established 3M's presence in the consumer market alongside its industrial operations.

The post World War II decades saw 3M expand aggressively into new product categories. The company developed magnetic recording tape in the 1940s, which became critical to the audio and data storage industries. In 1950, 3M introduced Scotchlite reflective sheeting, adopted for highway signs and safety equipment. The company went public in 1946, providing capital for further expansion.

In 1980, 3M launched Post-it Notes, one of the most commercially successful products in the company's history. The product originated from a 1968 discovery by researcher Spencer Silver, who developed a low tack adhesive that could be repositioned without leaving residue. The commercial application was identified by Art Fry, who used the adhesive to create removable bookmarks for his hymnal. Post-it Notes became a global office staple and demonstrated the value of 3M's internal research culture.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, 3M expanded internationally and diversified into healthcare, electronics, and specialty materials. The company made numerous acquisitions to enter adjacent markets, including Riker Laboratories in pharmaceuticals and various specialty chemical businesses. By 2000, 3M operated in more than 60 countries and generated roughly half its revenue outside the United States.

A major structural change came in 2024, when 3M completed the spin off of its healthcare business into a separate publicly traded company called Solventum. The separation, announced in 2023, was intended to allow both entities to focus on their respective markets with greater operational clarity. Following the spin off, 3M reorganized around its remaining industrial, transportation, and consumer businesses.

William Brown became CEO in May 2024, succeeding Mike Roman. Brown, who previously led L3Harris Technologies, initiated a comprehensive operational review and accelerated cost reduction program. Under his leadership, 3M added 284 new products in 2025, a 68% increase from the prior year, while improving adjusted operating margins by 200 basis points for the full year. For full year 2025, 3M reported GAAP sales of $24.9 billion and adjusted sales of $24.3 billion, with adjusted EPS of $8.06, up 10% year over year. The company initiated 2026 guidance of adjusted EPS in the range of $8.50 to $8.90.

3M has a mixed sustainability record that reflects the company's industrial heritage and the significant environmental and legal challenges it faces from legacy chemical products, alongside genuine progress in reducing its operational environmental footprint.

3M is a signatory to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and has committed to achieving carbon neutrality for its direct operations (Scope 1 and 2) by 2050, with an interim target of reducing absolute Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 50% by 2030 against a 2019 baseline. The company sources renewable electricity for a portion of its global manufacturing operations and has invested in energy efficiency programs across its production facilities.

The company's sustainability program spans four areas: People, Planet, Prosperity, and Product. In 2024, 3M reduced Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 40% against its 2019 baseline, ahead of its 2025 interim target. Water usage efficiency improved by approximately 12% over the same period across 3M manufacturing sites in water stressed regions.

However, the most significant sustainability challenge facing 3M is its historical manufacture and use of per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a class of synthetic chemicals that are persistent in the environment and have been linked to health harms at elevated concentrations. 3M was a primary manufacturer of PFAS compounds for decades and has faced substantial regulatory action and litigation as a result. The company ceased manufacturing PFAS globally by the end of 2025 as previously announced, but cleanup liabilities and ongoing litigation from contamination of water supplies represent material financial risks.

On packaging, 3M has committed to making 100% of its product packaging sustainable, which it defines as reusable, recyclable, or compostable, by 2025. Progress has been made across consumer product lines including Post-it and Scotch, but industrial packaging presents greater challenges. 3M publishes an annual Sustainability Report with independently assured performance data.

3M has received consistent recognition for innovation, research and development capability, and corporate responsibility from independent rating organizations.

• Clarivate Top 100 Global Innovators (2024 and 2025): 3M was named among the top 100 most innovative companies globally by Clarivate, based on patent filing activity, citation impact, and international patent reach. This reflects the company's position as one of the most active patent filers among U.S. industrials.
• Fortune Most Admired Companies (2025): 3M was included in Fortune's World's Most Admired Companies ranking in the diversified industrial products category, reflecting peer and analyst respect for the company's operational capabilities.
• Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI): 3M has been a consistent constituent of the DJSI North America index, assessed annually by S&P Global for ESG performance among large cap companies.
• Forbes World's Best Employers (2025): 3M received recognition from Forbes for employee satisfaction and workplace practices across its global workforce of approximately 85,000 people.
• Dividend King Status: 3M has paid dividends continuously since 1916 and increased its annual dividend for more than 60 consecutive years, placing it in the Dividend Kings category alongside a small number of companies with equally long dividend growth records.

3M has faced significant legal and regulatory exposure related to per and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly known as PFAS, a class of synthetic chemicals used in a wide range of 3M products including firefighting foam and water resistant coatings.

In June 2023, 3M reached a settlement with U.S. public water systems for approximately $10.3 billion to resolve claims that PFAS contamination from 3M products had polluted drinking water supplies. The settlement, to be paid over 13 years, was one of the largest environmental settlements in U.S. corporate history. The company denied wrongdoing as part of the settlement terms.

Separately, 3M reached a settlement in August 2023 with the U.S. Department of Defense for approximately $6 billion to resolve claims related to defective combat earplugs manufactured by its Aearo Technologies subsidiary. The earplugs were alleged to have caused hearing damage to U.S. military personnel. 3M had previously faced tens of thousands of individual lawsuits on this matter.

Ongoing PFAS related litigation continues in various jurisdictions, and the company carries substantial reserves for future legal costs. The financial impact of PFAS settlements is reflected in the gap between 3M's GAAP and adjusted earnings figures, as the company excludes significant litigation costs from its adjusted metrics.