3M earnings rise despite lower sales

ST. PAUL, Minn. — 3M Co. posted Q2 earnings that fell short of Wall Street estimates, as a plunge in demand was only partially offset by sales of N95 respiratory masks. Net sales for the quarter fell to $7.2 billion, compared to $8.2 billion in Q2 of 2019. Net income increased to $1.29 billion, or $2.22 per share, from $1.13 billion ($1.92) a year ago, with adjusted EPS of of $1.78. In the consumer goods segment, sales declined by 6.2 percent to $1.2 billion, but earnings rose by 4.8 percent to $287 million. Analysts had forecast earnings of $1.80 per share on total revenues of $7.3 billion. At the same time, however, the conglomerate managed to reduce operating expenses by 16 percent to $5.4 billion.