About William Brown
William Brown, CEO and Chairman of 3M, discussed the company's Q2 FY26 results during a July 21, 2026 earnings call. He reported earnings per share of $2.40, above the estimated $2.24, and revenue of $6.50 billion, above the estimated $6.39 billion. Brown stated that the company is "driving hard on procurement" and seeing "net savings even after inflation," and noted that 3M has "doubled the number of Kaizen events" internally. He described the next step in the company's transformation as "simplifying, standardizing, automating more of our processes" on both the SG&A and factory sides, and expressed confidence in the ability to "hit the high 40s over time" on margins.
Brown also addressed the impact of rising oil prices, stating that the company expects to offset higher oil costs "on a dollar-for-dollar basis through pricing," adding that 3M is "executing in this a little bit better" and "got on it faster this time." He noted that productivity has improved and that the team is focused on "design cost" to bring new features that drive price while reducing costs. Brown concluded by thanking 3M employees for "delivering another outstanding quarter of great execution."
Source: AI-verified profile updated from William Brown's recent appearances.
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Transcript (1 segments)
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When you try and force things, it's really hard to get them. And when you detach from things, they come a lot more easily in my opinion. Let's say you found this really attractive girl and you went on one date and you were just like, 'Man, this is the best girl in the world. I absolutely love her. I really want to be with this girl.' You might get a bit too intense. You know, let's say she ghosted you for a day. You'd be worrying. Like, 'Oh, I'm going to text her again. Why is she not replying? I really want to go out with her again.' And you start repelling her because you're going too hard. So, you repel a girl. But if you get with her and you know she's kind of all right, but you've got a lot of other options, you've got way more things to focus on, you're running a business, enjoying your life, then it's very likely that that detachment from the outcome will bring her to you instead because she will get that energy like, 'This guy doesn't need me. This guy has other options. He's busy with his business and he's getting on with his life.' That's like, 'Oh, I kind of want that. I want to go out with this guy again.' And the detachment from the outcome draws things in. And it's the same with business and money as well. You know, if you have to make money, it's so hard and it's so stressful. But if you're like, look, let me just do the right things. I mean, make good content. We run some ads at low scale, build a good funnel, work on the product, enjoy the coaching.
