Sifting through countless of stocks in the Industrial Conglomerates 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 3M Company or Illinois Tool Works Inc. 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 3M Company and Illinois Tool Works Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About 3M Company and Illinois Tool Works Inc.

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.

Illinois Tool Works Inc. provides industrial products and equipment in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and South America. It operates through seven segments: Automotive OEM; Food Equipment; Test & Measurement and Electronics; Welding; Polymers & Fluids; Construction Products; and Specialty Products. The Automotive OEM segment offers plastic and metal components, fasteners, and assemblies for automobiles, light trucks, and other industrial uses. The Food Equipment segment provides warewashing, cooking, refrigeration, and food processing equipment; kitchen exhaust, ventilation, and pollution control systems; and food equipment maintenance and repair services. The Test & Measurement and Electronics segment produce and sells test and measurement; and electronic manufacturing and maintenance, repair, and operations solutions. The Welding segment produces arc welding equipment, and metal arc welding consumables and related accessories. The Polymers & Fluids segment produces adhesives, sealants, lubrication and cutting fluids, and fluids and polymers for auto aftermarket maintenance and appearance. The Construction Products segment offers engineered fastening systems and solutions for the residential construction, renovation/remodel, and commercial construction markets. The Specialty Products segment provides beverage packaging equipment and consumables, product coding and marking equipment and consumables, and appliance components and fasteners. The company serves automotive OEM and aftermarket, commercial food equipment, construction, general industrial, industrial capital goods, consumer durables, and other markets, as well as MRO markets. It distributes its products directly to industrial manufacturers, as well as through independent distributors. Illinois Tool Works Inc. was founded in 1912 and is based in Glenview, Illinois.

Latest Industrial Conglomerates and 3M Company, Illinois Tool Works Inc. Stock News

As of September 2, 2026, 3M Company had a $87.0 billion market capitalization, compared to the Industrial Conglomerates median of $9.7 million. 3M Company’s stock is up 5.1% in 2026, down 5.9% in the previous five trading days and up 9.39% in the past year.

Currently, 3M Company’s price-earnings ratio is 30.0. 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 1.8% dividend yield.

As of September 2, 2026, Illinois Tool Works Inc. had a $76.6 billion market cap, putting it in the 96th percentile of all stocks. Illinois Tool Works Inc.’s stock is up 10.3% in 2026, down 3.6% in the previous five trading days and up 2.6% in the past year.

Currently, Illinois Tool Works Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 24.4. Illinois Tool Works Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $16.5 billion with a 19.4% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 6.1%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $11.449 per share for the current fiscal year. Illinois Tool Works Inc. currently has a 2.4% dividend yield.

How We Compare 3M Company and Illinois Tool Works Inc. 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 3M Company and Illinois Tool Works Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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3M Company and Illinois Tool Works Inc. Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
3M Company	MMM	D
Illinois Tool Works Inc.	ITW	F

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.

3M Company has a Value Score of 25, which is Expensive. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a Value Score of 18, which is Ultra Expensive.

The Value Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither 3M Company or Illinois Tool Works Inc. 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 3M Company or Illinois Tool Works Inc. is the better investment when it comes to value.

3M Company and Illinois Tool Works Inc.’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
3M Company	MMM	A
Illinois Tool Works Inc.	ITW	A

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks 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 the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

3M Company has a Quality Score of 95, which is Very Strong. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a Quality Score of 95, which is Very Strong.

The Quality Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Quality Grade breakdown above, both 3M Company and Illinois Tool Works Inc. have a grade of A. For investors who focus solely on a company’s overall quality, you will need to conduct further research into both companies to see if they are a good fit for your portfolio. As a good rule of thumb, you should always analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before choosing a company to invest in.

3M Company and Illinois Tool Works Inc.’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
3M Company	MMM	B
Illinois Tool Works Inc.	ITW	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.

3M Company has a Earnings Estimate Score of 65, which is Positive. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 61, which is Positive.

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

Looking at the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, both 3M Company and Illinois Tool Works Inc. 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 3M Company or Illinois Tool Works Inc. is a better fit.

Other 3M Company and Illinois Tool Works Inc. Grades

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

Momentum grades help 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.

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.

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 3M Company and Illinois Tool Works Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, 3M Company or Illinois Tool Works Inc. Stock?

Overall, 3M Company stock has a Value Score of 25, Estimate Revisions Score of 65 and Quality Score of 95.

Illinois Tool Works Inc. stock has a Value Score of 18, Estimate Revisions Score of 61 and Quality Score of 95.

Comparing 3M Company and Illinois Tool Works Inc.’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.