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3M key statistics and ratios

In fiscal 2025, 3M had return on equity of 76.1%, an operating margin of 18.6%, debt equal to 268.0% of equity and a current ratio of 1.71. Each ratio below is calculated from the figures on its income statement, balance sheet and cash flow pages.

Financial ratios

US$ thousands unless shown otherwise. Fiscal years, plus the last twelve months (LTM) when newer.

Fiscal year2009Dec 20092010Dec 20102011Dec 20112012Dec 20122013Dec 20132014Dec 20142015Dec 20152016Dec 20162017Dec 20172018Dec 20182019Dec 20192020Dec 20202021Dec 20212022Dec 20222023Dec 20232024Dec 20242025Dec 2025LTMSept 2026
Gross margin47.6%48.1%47.0%47.5%47.8%48.3%49.2%49.8%49.3%49.1%46.7%48.4%46.8%39.4%39.1%41.2%39.9%39.5%
Operating margin20.8%22.2%20.9%21.7%21.6%22.4%22.9%23.3%24.3%22.0%19.2%22.3%20.8%16.7%−43.4%19.6%18.6%18.8%
Net margin13.8%15.3%14.5%14.9%15.1%15.6%16.0%16.8%15.3%16.3%14.1%16.9%16.7%22.1%−28.4%17.0%13.0%14.0%
Free-cash-flow margin17.5%15.3%13.2%12.8%13.4%16.1%16.4%17.4%15.4%14.8%16.7%20.5%16.5%14.7%20.6%2.6%5.6%10.6%
Return on equity25.0%28.7%27.6%26.9%26.6%32.4%39.4%46.5%44.4%50.1%45.5%47.5%42.4%38.8%−71.6%96.5%76.1%80.1%
Return on assets11.7%14.2%13.9%13.6%13.9%15.3%15.0%15.4%13.7%14.4%11.1%11.8%12.5%12.4%−14.4%9.2%8.4%9.2%
Asset turnover0.850.930.960.910.920.980.940.920.890.880.790.700.750.560.510.540.640.65
Current ratio2.202.012.252.201.702.061.541.891.861.891.411.891.701.541.071.411.711.41
Debt to equity44.7%34.8%33.5%34.1%34.3%52.0%94.5%113.1%120.6%149.3%201.9%146.1%115.4%108.3%333.6%339.5%268.0%363.4%
Interest cover (operating income ÷ interest)——————46.6x35.3x23.9x20.6x13.8x13.5x15.1x9.5xn/m4.0x4.9x5.5x
Effective tax rate30.0%27.7%27.8%29.0%28.1%28.9%29.0%28.3%35.5%23.4%19.5%19.7%17.8%4.5%—16.7%23.8%19.2%
R&D as % of revenue3.6%3.4%3.5%3.6%3.7%3.7%4.0%4.1%4.3%3.8%3.9%3.4%3.4%3.1%2.8%2.8%——
SG&A as % of revenue21.2%20.5%20.8%20.4%20.7%20.3%20.6%21.0%20.9%23.2%21.9%21.5%20.4%27.6%78.0%17.2%16.0%14.6%
Capital spending as % of revenue3.9%4.1%4.7%5.0%5.4%4.7%4.8%4.7%4.3%4.8%5.3%4.7%4.5%6.7%6.6%4.8%3.6%3.8%
Free cash flow ÷ net income126.5%100.0%91.2%85.9%89.1%103.6%102.6%103.8%100.2%90.9%118.9%121.3%98.8%66.5%—15.3%43.0%75.7%
Dividends ÷ net income44.8%36.7%36.3%36.8%37.1%44.7%53.0%53.0%57.7%59.7%73.4%62.2%57.8%58.3%—47.5%48.1%45.3%
Dividends and buybacks ÷ free cash flow35.9%57.7%109.0%100.6%167.2%153.3%157.3%122.7%100.1%165.8%87.9%56.8%96.0%125.8%66.0%592.9%344.8%201.0%

Returns use average equity or assets over the year. Return on equity is left blank when equity is negative or so small that the ratio says nothing (above ±200%); interest cover is left blank above 200 times. Price-based ratios such as P/E are on the valuation page.

Financial health

3 of 7 checks passed · September 30, 2026
What it owns · $39.5bn
Short-term assets $16.7bnLonger-term assets $22.8bn
What it owes, and who funded it · $38.5bn
Short-term liabilities $11.9bnLonger-term liabilities $22.5bnShareholders' equity $4.1bn
  • Short-term assets cover short-term liabilities $16.7bn of assets due within a year against $11.9bn of liabilities due within a year.
  • Short-term assets cover long-term liabilities $16.7bn short-term assets against $22.5bn of longer-dated liabilities.
  • More cash than debt $4.8bn of cash against $15.0bn of debt.
  • Debt below 40% of shareholders' equity Debt is 363% of equity.
  • Debt burden no higher than five years ago Debt to equity moved from 99% to 363% over five years.
  • A year's operating cash flow covers at least 20% of debt $3.6bn of operating cash flow against $15.0bn of debt.
  • Operating profit covers interest at least five times over Operating income of $4.7bn against $855m of interest.

From 3M's latest balance sheet as filed. Checks are fixed, documented rules (methodology), counted only where the company reports the figures — a dot means the filing doesn't break the item out. Descriptions of reported data, not advice.

Moat

72 /100

Strong moat

How hard 3M's competitive advantage looks for rivals to wear away, judged from 10 years of its own filings: returns on capital, pricing power, profit durability, cash conversion and discipline.

  • Returns on capital 20 / 20

    Cash operating profit has been a median 18.9% of total assets over 10 years.

  • Pricing power 13 / 20

    Gross margin has been a median 45.8%, moving by 4.9 percentage points (standard deviation) across 10 years.

  • Durability 6 / 20

    Operating margin has been a median 20.8%; its worst year was -68.5%.

  • Cash conversion 18 / 20

    Free cash flow was positive in 10 of 10 years, at a median 15.2% of revenue.

  • Discipline 20 / 20

    The diluted share count fell 9.8% over five years; stock-based pay has been a median 0.9% of revenue.

AI disruption exposure: Medium. In this industry, AI could change how the product is made or sold, without replacing the core asset. The score above includes a 5-point deduction for that exposure (77 before it).

A rules-based reading of reported figures, not a forecast and not investment advice. How the score is built: methodology.

Compare with peers

Head to head: IEP vs MMMCODI vs MMMMATW vs MMM

More: Industrial Conglomerates stocks compared, Industrials sector, rankings of US companies

Figures from 3M's SEC filings (10-K and 10-Q), retrieved October 21, 2026. How we read and check them: methodology and data sources. Not investment advice. Back to 3M.