3M posted fourth-quarter earnings of $2.31 per share, beating analysts’ expectations of $2.02 (based on Investing.com poll).
Revenue came in at $8.61 billion, vs. analysts’ estimate of $8.6 billion.
The company’s free cash flow of $1.5 billion was also ahead of the $1.3 billion expected by the Street.
However, operating profit margins in the fourth quarter narrowed to 18.8%, from 21.5% in the fourth quarter of 2020. Supply-chain challenges and lower manufacturing volumes were the main factors behind this decrease, eroding about 2.4 percentage points of margins.