3M Second Quarter Earnings Sneak Peek

S&P 500 (NYSE:SPY) component 3M (NYSE:MMM) will unveil its latest earnings on Thursday, July 26, 2012. 3M is a global manufacturer, technology innovator, and marketer of a variety of products.

3M Earnings Preview Cheat Sheet

Wall St. Earnings Expectations: The average estimate of analysts is for net income of $1.65 per share, a rise of 3.1% from the company’s actual earnings for the same quarter a year ago. During the past three months, the average estimate has moved up from $1.64. Between one and three months ago, the average estimate moved up. It has dropped from $1.66 during the last month. Analysts are projecting profit to rise by 7.6% compared to last year’s $6.41.

Past Earnings Performance: The company has beaten estimates the last two quarters and is coming off a quarter where it topped the forecasts by 11 cents, reporting profit of $1.59 per share against a mean estimate of net income of $1.48. In the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year, the company exceeded forecasts by 4 cents with profit of $1.35 versus a mean estimate of net income of $1.31.

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Stock Price Performance: Between May 23, 2012 and July 20, 2012, the stock price had risen $5.19 (6.1%), from $84.80 to $89.99. The stock price saw one of its best stretches over the last year between March 6, 2012 and March 15, 2012, when shares rose for eight straight days, increasing 5.9% (+$5.05) over that span. It saw one of its worst periods between May 1, 2012 and May 18, 2012 when shares fell for 14 straight days, dropping 6.8% (-$6.09) over that span.

A Look Back: In the first quarter, profit rose 4.1% to $1.13 billion ($1.59 a share) from $1.08 billion ($1.49 a share) the year earlier, exceeding analyst expectations. Revenue rose 2.4% to $7.49 billion from $7.31 billion.

Analyst Ratings: There are seven out of 13 analysts surveyed (53.8%) rating 3M a buy.

Key Stats:

On the top line, the company is looking to build on four-straight revenue increases heading into this earnings announcement. Revenue rose 14.1% in the second quarter of the last fiscal year, 9.6% in the third quarter of the last fiscal year and 5.7% in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year before increasing again in the first quarter.

Wall St. Revenue Expectations: On average, analysts predict $7.79 billion in revenue this quarter, a rise of 1.4% from the year-ago quarter. Analysts are forecasting total revenue of $30.58 billion for the year, a rise of 3.3% from last year’s revenue of $29.61 billion.

Balance Sheet Analysis: The company’s current ratio of assets to liabilities came in at 2.38 last quarter. Having a ratio above 2:1 is usually considered a good indicator of a company’s liquidity and ability to meet creditor demands.

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(Company fundamentals by Xignite Financials. Earnings estimates provided by Zacks)

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