Investing.com - U.S. multinational conglomerate 3M reported weaker-than-expected first quarter earnings and revenue figures ahead of Thursday’s opening bell.
3M said earnings per share came in at $1.79 in the first quarter, below expectations for earnings of $1.80 per share. The company’s first quarter revenue totaled $7.83 billion, missing forecasts for revenue of $7.96 billion.
3M paid $566 million in cash dividends to shareholders and repurchased $1.7 billion of its own shares during the quarter.
This was a solid quarter for 3M, said Inge G. Thulin, 3M’s chairman, president and chief executive officer.
3M maintained its full-year earnings expectation of $7.30 to $7.55 per share with organic local-currency sales growth of 3 to 6 percent.
Following the release of the report, 3M Company (NYSE:MMM) shares were flat in pre-market trade.
Meanwhile, the outlook for U.S. equity markets remained higher. The Dow 30 futures indicated a gain of 0.4% at the open, the S&P 500 futures pointed to an increase of 0.6%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a rise of 1.6%.