3M beat earnings expectations and raised its full-year forecast — its stock surged

The St. Paul, Minnesota-based manufacturer now expects full-year adjusted earnings per share of $8.80 to $8.95, up from its previous range of $8.50 to $8.70. The company also raised its adjusted organic sales growth outlook to more than 3.5%, up from a prior target of roughly 3%, the company said. Analysts had expected full-year earnings of $8.74 per share, according to The Wall Street Journal.

3M stock rose roughly 6% in premarket trading following the announcement.

For the second quarter, adjusted earnings came in at $2.40 per share, up 11% year-on-year. Analysts had expected $2.25 per share, according to BNN Bloomberg. Revenue climbed 2.4% to $6.5 billion, topping the $6.4 billion consensus estimate. Adjusted organic sales grew 5.4% year-on-year.

The safety and industrial segment — 3M's largest by sales — brought in $3.09 billion in quarterly revenue, an organic jump of more than 8% compared with the same period last year, driven by demand in electrical markets, adhesives, abrasives, and industrial specialties. The transportation and electronics segment reached $2.07 billion, a 6.2% increase, with soft auto demand counterbalanced by strong performance in data centers and semiconductors.

The adjusted operating income margin came in at 24.9%, an increase of 40 basis points year-on-year. 3M returned $1.4 billion to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases during the quarter, and generated adjusted free cash flow of $1.3 billion, the company said.

"We delivered a strong second quarter, exceeding expectations with mid-single-digit sales growth, robust operating margins of about 25%, and double-digit EPS growth, reflecting the progress we're making on our strategic priorities and building a higher-performing company," 3M Chairman and CEO William Brown said in a statement.

On an annual basis, 3M is targeting an adjusted operating income margin gain of 70 to 80 basis points alongside adjusted operating cash flow in the range of $5.8 billion to $6.0 billion, the company said.