3M Fails to Meet Market Expectation Blames Strong Dollar

A stronger U.S. dollar took a toll on the performance of diversified technology company 3M during the first quarter, as the company reported earnings and revenue that fell shy of market expectations on Thursday, which sent its stock tumbling in pre-market trading.

The company specifically cited the negative impact of a stronger greenback on sales, which also prompted 3M to reduce its full-year outlook. After the earnings announcement, the company’s shares shed nearly four percent after the opening bell on Wall Street.

The St. Paul, Minnesota company posted first-quarter earnings excluding items of $1.61 per share, up from $1.59 a share in the year-earlier period. Revenue increased to $7.63 billion from $7.49 billion a year ago.

Analysts had expected 3M to report earnings excluding items of $1.65 a share on $7.81 billion in revenue, according to a consensus estimate from Thomson Reuters.

“We achieved record first-quarter sales and solid operating margins in the face of a low-growth economic environment and the strong U.S. dollar,” said Inge G. Thulin, 3M chairman, president and CEO.

via CNBC

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Alfonso Esparza

Alfonso Esparza

Senior Currency Analyst at Market Pulse
Alfonso Esparza specializes in macro forex strategies for North American and major currency pairs. Upon joining OANDA in 2007, Alfonso Esparza established the MarketPulseFX blog and he has since written extensively about central banks and global economic and political trends. Alfonso has also worked as a professional currency trader focused on North America and emerging markets. He has been published by The MarketWatch, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail, and he also appears regularly as a guest commentator on networks including Bloomberg and BNN. He holds a finance degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) and an MBA with a specialization on financial engineering and marketing from the University of Toronto.
Alfonso Esparza