Sifting through countless of stocks in the Aerospace & Defense industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in General Electric Company or 3M Company because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how General Electric Company and 3M Company compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About General Electric Company and 3M Company

General Electric Company, doing business as GE Aerospace, designs and produces commercial and defense aircraft engines, integrated engine components, electric power, and aircraft systems. The company operates through two segments, Commercial Engines & Services, and Defense & Propulsion Technologies. The Commercial Engines & Services segment designs, develops, manufactures, maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) services of jet engines and sale of spare parts for commercial airframes, business aviation, and aeroderivative applications. The Defense & Propulsion Technologies designs, develops, manufactures, and services jet engines and avionics and power systems for governments, militaries, and commercial airframers, as well as MRO of engines and the sale of spare parts. This segment also offers aircraft components and systems, such as small turboprop engines, aeroengine mechanical transmissions, turbines, combustors and controls, additive manufacturing, propeller systems, ignition systems, sensors and engine accessories for fixed wing and rotorcraft applications for commercial and military end users under the Avio Aero, Unison, Dowty Propellers, and Colibrium Additive brands. The company operates in the United States, Europe, Asia, the Americas, the Middle East, and Africa. General Electric Company was incorporated in 1892 and is based in Evendale, Ohio.

3M Company provides diversified technology services in the America, the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Safety and Industrial, Transportation and Electronics, and Consumer. The Safety and Industrial segment provides industrial abrasives and finishing for metalworking applications; autobody repair solutions; industrial specialty products, such as personal hygiene products, masking, and packaging materials; electrical products and materials for construction and maintenance, power distribution, and electrical original equipment manufacturers; structural adhesives and tapes; respiratory, hearing, eye, and fall protection solutions; and natural and color-coated mineral granules for shingles. The Transportation and Electronics segment provides ceramic solutions; attachment and bonding, films, sound, and temperature management for transportation vehicles; format graphic films for advertising and fleet signage; reflective signage for highway and vehicle safety; light management films and electronics assembly solutions; chip packaging and interconnection solutions; semiconductor production materials; and data center solutions. The Consumer segment offers cleaning products for the home; consumer air quality products; picture hanging accessories; retail abrasives, paint accessories, and safety products; stationery and office products; automotive appearance products; and consumer bandages, tapes, braces, and supports. It serves automotive; commercial solutions; consumer markets; design and construction; electronics; energy; government; manufacturing; safety; transportation industries. The company offers its products through e-commerce and traditional wholesalers, retailers, jobbers, distributors, channel partner, and dealers, as well as directly to users. 3M Company was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Latest Aerospace & Defense and General Electric Company, 3M Company Stock News

As of September 9, 2026, General Electric Company had a $337.6 billion market capitalization, compared to the Aerospace & Defense median of $3.9 million. General Electric Company’s stock is up 5.1% in 2026, down 1.7% in the previous five trading days and up 17.88% in the past year.

Currently, General Electric Company’s price-earnings ratio is 38.4. General Electric Company’s trailing 12-month revenue is $50.6 billion with a 17.7% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 21.1%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $7.915 per share for the current fiscal year. General Electric Company currently has a 0.6% dividend yield.

As of September 9, 2026, 3M Company had a $84.8 billion market cap, putting it in the 96th percentile of all stocks. 3M Company’s stock is up 1.4% in 2026, down 3.8% in the previous five trading days and up 6.75% in the past year.

Currently, 3M Company’s price-earnings ratio is 29.2. 3M Company’s trailing 12-month revenue is $25.2 billion with a 11.9% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 2.5%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $8.942 per share for the current fiscal year. 3M Company currently has a 1.9% dividend yield.

How We Compare General Electric Company and 3M Company Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at General Electric Company and 3M Company’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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General Electric Company and 3M Company Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
General Electric Company	GE	F
3M Company	MMM	D

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.

Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

General Electric Company has a Value Score of 12, which is Ultra Expensive. 3M Company has a Value Score of 25, which is Expensive.

The Value Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither General Electric Company or 3M Company has a high enough value grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolio. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if General Electric Company or 3M Company is the better investment when it comes to value.

General Electric Company and 3M Company’s Momentum Grades

Company	Ticker	Momentum
General Electric Company	GE	C
3M Company	MMM	C

Momentum grades help to uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming. Momentum is based on the price change of a stock over a specified period relative to all other stocks.

Typically, AAII looks at the weighted relative strength over the trailing four quarters. The weighted four-quarter relative strength rank is the relative price change for each of the past four quarters. The most recent quarterly price change is given a weight of 40% and each of the three previous quarters are given a weighting of 20%.

General Electric Company has a Momentum Score of 55, which is Average. 3M Company has a Momentum Score of 49, which is Average.

The Momentum Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither General Electric Company or 3M Company has a strong enough Momentum Grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if General Electric Company or 3M Company is the better investment when it comes to momentum.

General Electric Company and 3M Company’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
General Electric Company	GE	B
3M Company	MMM	B

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

General Electric Company has a Earnings Estimate Score of 66, which is Positive. 3M Company has a Earnings Estimate Score of 67, which is Positive.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, both General Electric Company and 3M Company have a grade of B. For those focusing solely on a company’s estimate revisions, other financial metrics will need to be evaluated to determine whether General Electric Company or 3M Company is a better fit.

Other General Electric Company and 3M Company Grades

In addition to Estimate Revisions, Momentum and Value, A+ Investor also provides grades for Growth and Quality.

Growth investing builds on the idea that stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth outperform those of slower-growth companies. AAII measures growth through consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations.

AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the ranking of key metrics. Specifically, the quality grade is the percentile rank of the composite of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and F-Score.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether General Electric Company and 3M Company pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, General Electric Company or 3M Company Stock?

Overall, General Electric Company stock has a Value Score of 12, Momentum Score of 55 and Estimate Revisions Score of 66.

3M Company stock has a Value Score of 25, Momentum Score of 49 and Estimate Revisions Score of 67.

Comparing General Electric Company and 3M Company’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.