3M Company (MMM)

[DewDiligence]

In 3Q20, 3M’s strongest growth among any of its product lines came from the Filtrete at-home furnace filters. As more people are working from home, they are upgrading their filters—and changing them more often.

(I use a 3M Filtrete filter with a MERV=12 rating, which is one of the highest—but not the highest—filtration rating available. The engineer who services my furnace and A/C says that a higher-rated filter would not allow the system to “breathe” sufficiently, leading to suboptimal performance and possible damage to the furnace itself.

As a result of using a high-quality filter and running the furnace fan 24/7, the house needs vacuuming must less frequently than most people probably think.)