MMM
3M Company
MMM has lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
VRT
Vertiv Holdings Co
VRT has the edge over MMM overall, supported by stronger valuation and stronger fundamentals.
MMM Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy |
MMM's profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its revenue is stable.
VRT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
VRT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently strong.
MMM PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 15x | $98.78 | -47% |
| Fair | 19x | $128 | -31% |
| Forward | 19x | $186 | — |
| Expensive | 27x | $179 | -4.1% |
| Current | 28x | $186 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
MMM's PE is in its expensive range at 28x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 19x next year's earnings, in its fair range.
VRT PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 23x | $210 | — |
| Current | 39x | $210 | — |
| Cheap | 58x | $308 | +47% |
| Fair | 72x | $383 | +83% |
| Expensive | 88x | $472 | +125% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
VRT has the edge over MMM in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
MMM Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for MMM, with profitability improving.
VRT Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect strong earnings and revenue growth for VRT, with profitability improving.
MMM Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $9.64 | +44% |
| Q3 2026 | $6.71 | +7.2% |
| Q2 2026 | $5.63 | -22% |
| Q1 2026 | $5.19 | -34% |
| Q4 2025 | $6.00 | -21% |
| Q3 2025 | $6.26 | -21% |
| Q2 2025 | $7.19 | +323% |
| Q1 2025 | $7.92 | +$20.64 |
| Q4 2024 | $7.55 | +$20.18 |
MMM's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $6.71 over the past year, against $11.48 in late 2022.
VRT Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $9.14 | +71% |
| Q3 2026 | $5.35 | +102% |
| Q2 2026 | $4.42 | +111% |
| Q1 2026 | $3.98 | +131% |
| Q4 2025 | $3.41 | +166% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.65 | +75% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.09 | +62% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.72 | +64% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.28 | +7.6% |
VRT has the edge over MMM on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
MMM Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $6.6B | +1% |
| Q2 2026 | $6.5B | +2.5% |
| Q1 2026 | $6B | +1.3% |
| Q4 2025 | $6.1B | +2% |
| Q3 2025 | $6.5B | +3.5% |
| Q2 2025 | $6.3B | +1.4% |
| Q1 2025 | $6B | -26% |
| Q4 2024 | $6B | -25% |
MMM's revenue fell from its 2021 peak and has held roughly level since: $6.6B last quarter, up 1% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 24% | +1.5 points |
| Q2 2026 | 15% | -2.8 points |
| Q1 2026 | 23% | +2.2 points |
| Q4 2025 | 13% | -5.1 points |
| Q3 2025 | 22% | +1.3 points |
| Q2 2025 | 18% | -2.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 21% | +2.2 points |
| Q4 2024 | 18% | +2.5 points |
MMM has the edge over VRT on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
VRT Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $4.3B | +61% |
| Q2 2026 | $3.3B | +24% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.6B | +30% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.9B | +23% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.7B | +29% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.6B | +35% |
| Q1 2025 | $2B | +24% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.3B | +26% |
VRT has the edge over MMM on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 23% | +3.5 points |
| Q2 2026 | 19% | +2.7 points |
| Q1 2026 | 17% | +2.3 points |
| Q4 2025 | 20% | +0.7 points |
| Q3 2025 | 19% | +1.4 points |
| Q2 2025 | 17% | -0.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 14% | +1.9 points |
| Q4 2024 | 19% | +4.2 points |
VRT's operating margin was 23% last quarter, up 3.5 points from the same quarter a year ago, near the top of its range since 2020.
MMM Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $230M | -85% |
| Q2 2026 | $763M | +$1.9B |
| Q1 2026 | $349M | +$664M |
| Q4 2025 | $1.3B | -13% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.5B | +$3.6B |
| Q2 2025 | -$1.2B | -255% |
| Q1 2025 | -$315M | -180% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.5B | -6.2% |
MMM still generates free cash flow, though less than at its 2020 peak: $2.7B over the past year.
VRT Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $654.9M | +41% |
| Q2 2026 | $926.5M | +233% |
| Q1 2026 | $654.2M | +145% |
| Q4 2025 | $885.6M | +143% |
| Q3 2025 | $463.5M | +36% |
| Q2 2025 | $277.9M | -19% |
| Q1 2025 | $266.8M | +162% |
| Q4 2024 | $364.5M | +18% |
VRT has the edge over MMM on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
MMM Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | 0% | +200K shares |
| 1 year | -2.9% | -15.5M shares |
| 3 years | -5.7% | -31.7M shares |
| 5 years | -11% | -63.7M shares |
| Available history | -11% | -62.5M shares |
MMM has the edge over VRT on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $232M |
| Q2 2026 | $994M |
| Q1 2026 | $2B |
| Q4 2025 | $552M |
| Q3 2025 | $472M |
| Q2 2025 | $953M |
| Q1 2025 | $1.3B |
| Q4 2024 | $705M |
MMM spent $3.8B buying back its own shares over the past year, up 11% from the year before.
VRT Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | 0% | -64.9K shares |
| 1 year | +0.4% | +1.8M shares |
| 3 years | +1.1% | +4.4M shares |
| 5 years | +10% | +36M shares |
| Available history | +63% | +152M shares |
VRT has 393M diluted shares, about the same as a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | — |
| Q1 2025 | — |
| Q4 2024 | — |
| Q3 2024 | — |
| Q2 2024 | — |
| Q1 2024 | $599.9M |
MMM Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.7x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 1.6x | Healthy |
| Q1 2026 | 1.4x | Healthy |
| Q4 2025 | 1.2x | Healthy |
| Q3 2025 | 1.3x | Healthy |
| Q2 2025 | 1.6x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 1.2x | Healthy |
| Q4 2024 | 1.1x | Healthy |
MMM's net debt is about 1.6 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from 1.3 years a year ago.
VRT Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.2x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 1.0x | Healthy |
VRT has the edge over MMM on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
MMM Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 65.6 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 66.5 | Neutral |
MMM's weekly RSI is 66 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 66 (neutral).
VRT Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 43.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 26.4 | Neutral |
VRT's weekly RSI is 43 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 26 (neutral).
MMM PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | MMM | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 28x | 24x | 16% above |
| PE % | 87 | 58 | 29 pts above |
MMM has the edge over VRT on valuation relative to its sector.
VRT PE vs Industrials Sector
| Metric | VRT | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 39x | 24x | 63% above |
| PE % | 3 | 58 | 55 pts below |
VRT is trading at 39x earnings, a 63% premium to the Industrials sector's median of 24x.
MMM Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $171.9 | 8.3% above |
| 20 week MA | $171.0 | 8.9% above |
| 50 week MA | $162.5 | 15% above |
| 100 week MA | $156.0 | 19% above |
| 200 week MA | $126.5 | 47% above |
MMM has the edge over VRT on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
VRT Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $221.8 | 5.5% below |
| 20 week MA | $254.4 | 18% below |
| 50 week MA | $253.9 | 17% below |
| 100 week MA | $189.1 | 11% above |
| 200 week MA | $123.5 | 70% above |
VRT has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 70% above its 200-week average.
MMM Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $148.2 | $145.9 | -1.5% |
| 2021 | $145.9 | $146.3 | +0.3% |
| 2022 | $146.3 | $100.5 | -31% |
| 2023 | $100.5 | $91.4 | -9% |
| 2024 | $91.4 | $130.2 | +42% |
| 2025 | $130.2 | $162.1 | +25% |
| 2026 YTD | $162.1 | $186.2 | +15% |
MMM has finished lower in three of the last six years. It's up 15% so far in 2026.
VRT Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $10.9 | $18.9 | +73% |
| 2021 | $18.9 | $24.9 | +31% |
| 2022 | $24.9 | $12.8 | -48% |
| 2023 | $12.8 | $48.0 | +275% |
| 2024 | $48.0 | $115.1 | +140% |
| 2025 | $115.1 | $167.6 | +46% |
| 2026 YTD | $167.6 | $209.6 | +25% |
VRT has the edge over MMM on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.