NOTE 14. Business Segments

3M’s businesses are organized, managed and internally grouped into segments based on differences in markets, products, technologies and services. 3M manages its operations in five business segments: Industrial; Safety and Graphics; Health Care; Electronics and Energy; and Consumer. 3M’s five business segments bring together common or related 3M technologies, enhancing the development of innovative products and services and providing for efficient sharing of business resources. Transactions among reportable segments are recorded at cost. 3M is an integrated enterprise characterized by substantial intersegment cooperation, cost allocations and inventory transfers. Therefore, management does not represent that these segments, if operated independently, would report the operating income information shown. The difference between operating income and pre-tax income relates to interest income and interest expense, which are not allocated to business segments.

Effective in the first quarter of 2017, as part of 3M’s continuing effort to improve the alignment of its businesses around markets and customers the Company made the following changes:

Integrated the former Renewable Energy Division into existing divisions;

Combined two divisions to form the Automotive and Aerospace Solutions Division; and

Consolidated U.S. customer account activity - impacting dual credit reporting

Integration of former Renewable Energy Division

The (i) solar and wind and (ii) energy product lines (along with certain technology previously included in Corporate and Unallocated) of the former Renewable Energy Division (RED) were integrated into the existing Electrical Markets Division and Electronics Materials Solutions Division, respectively, within the Electronics and Energy business segment. In addition, the former RED’s window film product lines were moved into the Commercial Solutions Division within the Safety and Graphics business segment. This change resulted in a decrease in previously reported net sales and operating income for total year 2016 of $203 million and $38 million, respectively, in the Electronics and Energy segment. These decreases were offset by a $207 million and $29 million increase in previously reported total year 2016 net sales and operating income, respectively, in the Safety and Graphics business segment and a $4 million decrease and $9 million increase in previously reported net sales and operating income, respectively, in Corporate and Unallocated.

Creation of Automotive and Aerospace Solutions Division

The former Automotive Division and Aerospace and Commercial Transportation Division (both within the Industrial business segment) were combined to create the Automotive and Aerospace Solutions Division. Because this realignment was within the Industrial business segment, it had no impact on business segment reporting.

Consolidation of U.S. customer account activity - impacting dual credit reporting

The Company consolidated its customer account activity in the U.S. into more centralized sales districts to better serve customers. As discussed further below, 3M business segment reporting measures include dual credit to business segments for certain U.S. sales and related operating income. This dual credit is based on which business segment provides customer account activity (“sales district”) with respect to a particular product sold in the U.S. Previously, a customer in the U.S. may have been aligned to several sales districts associated with multiple divisions or segments based on the individual products the customer purchased across 3M’s portfolio. The alignment of U.S. customer accounts to fewer, more focused sales districts therefore changed the attribution of dual credit across 3M’s business segments. As a result, previously reported aggregate business segment net sales and operating income for total year 2016 increased $163 million and $36 million, respectively, offset by similar increases in the elimination of dual credit net sales and operating income amounts.

The financial information presented herein reflects the impact of the preceding business segment reporting changes for all periods presented.

Business Segment Information


	Three months ended				Nine months ended
	September 30,				September 30,
(Millions)	2017		2016		2017		2016
Net Sales
Industrial	$	2,764	$	2,603	$	8,193	$	7,856
Safety and Graphics		1,529		1,500		4,603		4,538
Health Care		1,476		1,371		4,339		4,176
Electronics and Energy		1,414		1,250		3,838		3,468
Consumer		1,236		1,210		3,415		3,390
Corporate and Unallocated		1		2		5		5
Elimination of Dual Credit		(248)		(227)		(726)		(653)
Total Company	$	8,172	$	7,709	$	23,667	$	22,780

Operating Income
Industrial	$	614	$	595	$	1,762	$	1,837
Safety and Graphics		410		372		1,661		1,152
Health Care		471		431		1,317		1,350
Electronics and Energy		394		304		920		716
Consumer		307		317		724		836
Corporate and Unallocated		(100)		(65)		(225)		(189)
Elimination of Dual Credit		(55)		(50)		(160)		(144)
Total Company	$	2,041	$	1,904	$	5,999	$	5,558

Corporate and unallocated operating income includes a variety of miscellaneous items, such as corporate investment gains and losses, certain derivative gains and losses, certain insurance-related gains and losses, certain litigation and environmental expenses, corporate restructuring charges and certain under- or over-absorbed costs (e.g. pension, stock-based compensation) that the Company may choose not to allocate directly to its business segments. Because this category includes a variety of miscellaneous items, it is subject to fluctuation on a quarterly and annual basis.

3M business segment reporting measures include dual credit to business segments for certain U.S. sales and related operating income. Management evaluates each of its five business segments based on net sales and operating income performance, including dual credit U.S. reporting to further incentivize U.S. sales growth. As a result, 3M reflects additional (“dual”) credit to another business segment when the customer account activity (“sales district”) with respect to the particular product sold to the external customer in the U.S. is provided by a different business segment. This additional dual credit is largely reflected at the division level. For example, certain respirators are primarily sold by the Personal Safety Division within the Safety and Graphics business segment; however, a sales district within the Industrial business segment provides the contact for sales of the product to particular customers in the U.S. market. In this example, the non-primary selling segment (Industrial) would also receive credit for the associated net sales initiated though its sales district and the related approximate operating income. The assigned operating income related to dual credit activity may differ from operating income that would result from actual costs associated with such sales. The offset to the dual credit business segment reporting is reflected as a reconciling item entitled “Elimination of Dual Credit,” such that sales and operating income for the U.S. in total are unchanged.

Certain sales and operating income results for electronic bonding product lines are equally divided between the Electronics and Energy business segment and the Industrial business segment.