MMM3M Company

3M makes tens of thousands of products from materials of its own invention — from adhesive tape to respirators.

The company is organised around materials science: adhesives, abrasives, films and nonwovens, with a single discovery adapted to dozens of applications across industry, medicine, transport and the home. No single market carries a critical share, which historically provided resilience.

The past decade was defined not by products but by litigation: settlements over fluorochemical water contamination and defective earplugs cost the company large payments spread over years. Those, rather than operating results, moved the stock.

The answer was simplification: spinning the healthcare arm into a separate company and pruning the portfolio. Risks: the industrial cycle, raw material costs and residual litigation uncertainty. 3M is a dividend aristocrat, though the payout was reduced after the spin-off.