3M Company (MMM)

[bar1080]

I'm a long-retired lawyer and I never understood the theory of 3M's maneuvering against the earplug litigation. That gambit certainly wouldn't have worked years ago. Recently I dodged a similar situation when my kids' Monsanto holding was barely able to foist its incessant Roundup weed killer litigation onto Bayer of Germany. Thankfully Monsanto Corporation retained considerable value, but the company's brand (and balance sheet) was diminished by years in court. Monsanto, I believe, no long exists anywhere as a product nameplate.

With a market cap of $73 billion, 3M has considerable resources to carry on, but I'm guessing the company is precarious for growth. Several months ago my son asked my opinion of him buying 3M shares and I advised him to never invest based primarily on a showy payout [4.2%]. Since then, MMM is down another 15%, somewhat worse than the broad stock market. I'm holding 3M stock, but not adding

A recent article on 3M problems.
https://seekingalpha.com/article/4537364-3m-company-the-old-adage-of-not-buying-into-lawsuits