CLAIM #42492 · 3M Company (MMM) · 2024Q3 earnings call · Oct 22, 2024 · due Oct 22, 2026
“And we do expect in years to come the cap – as earnings grow, we make progress in working capital, especially in the area of inventory, this will increase our cash flow and keep the conversion higher than 100%.”
Anurag Maheshwari · CFO
How to check this claim
Look at: Free cash flow conversion (free cash flow divided by net income), annual
It came true if: Cash flow conversion > 100% for fiscal year 2025 and/or fiscal year 2026
Where: Company annual report / 10-K and earnings call cash flow disclosures
In context
“: Sure. Jeff, I really believe that our capital structure is actually solid from a cash balance, leverage, cash flow generation and optionality perspective, which allows the optimal capital deployment and allocation. As Bill mentioned, we have a very hefty – good cash balance. We ended the third quarter at $7.3 billion, which is more than 2x of the working capital requirements of the business. On leverage, it was a net leverage of 0.8x at the end of the third quarter, and more importantly, maintaining a strong investment grade rating with ratings of A3 or A minus. And as we’ve seen through the quarter and the course of the year, the cash flow generation has been robust. For the first 9 months, we generated $3.5 billion of cash flow and that’s after investing $1.7 billion on R&D and CapEx. And we do expect in years to come the cap – as earnings grow, we make progress in working capital, especially in the area of inventory, this will increase our cash flow and keep the conversion higher than 100%. Also, we have optionality in terms of the 19.9% stake in Solventum and any other future portfolio reshaping we do. So putting all of that together, it’s a strong capital structure. We have optionality, flexibility to invest in the business to drive growth and also to return capital to shareholders. So, that’s an active discussion we’re having and we’ll probably come more about it, talk more about it over the next few months. Jeff Sprague: Great. Appreciate the color. Thanks a lot, guys. Operator: We’ll go next now to Julian Mitchell with Barclays. Julian Mitchell: Thanks. Good morning and welcome, Anurag. Maybe, Bill, a lot of very good color on the – some specific sort of tools around driving operational excellence, but maybe trying to tie it together, I think at a conference for about 6”
Verify independently
SEC filings for MMM ↗ · Claim quote is verbatim from the 2024Q3 earnings call.