3M lowered its forecast for the full fiscal year 2010, expecting dilution effects from its frenzy of acquisitions. It may take years before 3M's acquisitions are accretive to the company's stock price.
In the past few years, 3M has been the target of multiple lawsuits alleging pollution from its incinerators and manufacturing plants.
In Cottage Grove, Minnesota, the company wans to burn materials from non-3M sources in its 38-year-old incinerator. 3M has met resistance from local residents, catching the attention of the state Pollution Control Agency and the creation of a local city Cottage Grove Environmental Task Force.
In 2004, traces of PFCs (perfluorochemicals) were found in drinking water in Oakdale and Lake Elmo, Minnesota, and then identified in the drinking water of about 67,000 people. The PFSc had leaked from various dumpsites. After a 4-year lawsuit, a judge ruled that the traces in water were too small to harm any property values or public health.
With the weakening US economy, 3M has been relying on foreign sales for growth. But as the US dollar appreciates, coupled with a global economic slowdown, the attractiveness of 3M's goods abroad will decline.
