3M’s board approved an additional $6 billion in share-repurchase authority on Nov. 3, raising available capacity to $7.5 billion and expanding the company’s ability to return capital to shareholders.
The new approval adds to about $1.5 billion still unused from the 2025 program. That program replaced 3M’s 2018 authorization, the company’s Form 10-Q says. The latest approval has no preset end date, and 3M did not announce a purchase timetable or forecast how much it would buy.
3M bought $3.2 billion of its stock during the first nine months of 2026, according to the filing. The company said repurchases help meet employee stock-compensation needs and serve other corporate purposes. The $6 billion authorization sets a limit; it does not commit 3M to making purchases up to that amount.
The filing ranks investment in the business to support organic growth and improve returns on invested capital as 3M’s highest capital-allocation priority.
Separately, the board declared a fourth-quarter dividend of $0.78 per common share, unchanged from the third-quarter rate. Payment is scheduled for Dec. 11 to shareholders of record Nov. 13.
