3M tumbles 10% after forecast falls short of estimates

Shares of 3M Co. (MMM.US) are losing more than 10% in today's session, after the company's 2024 earnings forecast turned out to be more conservative than analysts had expected. What's worth adding, if today's session manages to close with similar intraday dynamics, the company's shares would record their biggest daily decline since April 2019. The company is uninterruptedly continuing the restructuring process that led to massive layoffs a year ago. 

ANNUAL FORECAST

• Projected adjusted EPS of between $9.35 and $9.75, estimated $9.81
• Assumed adjusted cash flow from operations: $6.5-7.1 billion
• Organic sales expected to be flat or up 2%; analysts expected 2.7% growth

Q1 2024 FORECAST

• Net sales: $8.01 billion, estimated $7.72 billion

FOURTH QUARTER RESULTS

• Adjusted EPS $2.42, estimated $2.31
• Net sales: $8.01 billion, estimated $7.72 billion

Bank of America analysts added that forecasts for Q1 were conservative and reflected macroeconomic uncertainty, but that the increase in Q4 EPS was mainly due to items such as taxes.

The company's shares started today's session to a downward gap, which with its range broke below the confluence of the 50-, 100- and 200-day exponential moving averages (blue, purple and gold curves on the chart, respectively). Source: xStation