We recently published a list of 11 Best Performing Dow Stocks So Far in 2025. In this article, we are going to take a look at where 3M Company (NYSE:MMM) stands against other best performing Dow stocks so far in 2025.
The Dow is a renowned and significant stock market index that measures the performance of 30 publicly traded businesses listed on US stock exchanges, representing a diverse variety of industries.
As of 20 February 2025, the index has steadily increased, rising 14.41% in the last 12 months and 4.21% year to date in 2025. It rose 8.04% over the last six months, mirroring its 8.04% gain in the previous month. Over the long term, it has risen 52.37% in the last five years and has returned an astounding 3,362.55% since 1985.
In comparison, the broader market has outpaced the Dow, gaining 22% in the last year and 4% year to date in 2025. The wider market has risen 8.84% during the last six months, with a 1.13% increase in the last month. Its long-term performance has been favorable, with a five-year gain of 83.28% and a remarkable 3,717.09% increase since 1996. Its superior performance is largely due to the strength of technology and high-growth stocks.
Nonetheless, the Nasdaq has led the market, climbing 28.12% in the last 12 months and 3.53% year to date in 2025. Over the last six months, the Nasdaq has gone up by 11.40%, with 1.04% growth in the last month. Over the last five years, it has surged by 108.45%, proving its dominance in high-growth sectors.
While the Dow has fallen behind the other two markets in recent years, its consistency and solid historical returns underline its long-term investment appeal. The index typically has reduced volatility and concentrates on established blue-chip companies.
According to a report by S&P Dow Jones Indices, the Dow is still a dependable benchmark for US market performance, following 30 blue-chip businesses with strong reputations and consistent growth. Its price-weighted system ensures stability, typically reducing losses during downturns. The index has a historical association with broader markets, but it is less volatile than the broader market due to its emphasis on well-established firms. Despite its small size, the index has shown resilience in bear markets, such as 2009, while also reaping gains during bullish cycles. Its longstanding reputation and exposure to important industries make it a reliable predictor of economic strength.
However, the Dow lost 0.6% on Thursday, February 20, 2025, as U.S. jobless claims surged faster than expected, heightening concerns about the labor market and the overall economic outlook. The wider market fell 0.5%, while the Nasdaq fell 0.7% in early trading, signaling broader market weakness. Investors reacted to economic data and shifting market sentiment as bond yields edged lower, with the 10-year Treasury yield falling to 4.52%.
A specialized industrial laboratory, filled with high-tech machinery for producing abrasives.
Methodology
We began with a pool of 30 stocks from the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and identified stocks that have delivered positive returns in 2025 so far. We then picked the top 11 stocks with the highest Year-to-Date return as of February 14. The stocks are ranked in ascending order of their year-to-date performance.
“Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).”
3M Company (NYSE:MMM)
Year-to-date return as of February 14: 14.59%
3M Company (NYSE:MMM) provides a broad range of technological solutions, including consumer goods like stationery, bandages, household cleaning supplies, industrial products, safety equipment, and materials for electronics and transportation.
The 3M Company (NYSE:MMM) is a consumer products company and industrial behemoth. In a time when the industry as a whole has suffered from high rates and decreased economic activity, it is one of the few industrial equities that has managed to do well.
Over the past year, the stock has increased by over 94% as a result of the company’s successful cost-cutting efforts. 3M Company (NYSE:MMM) reported $6.0 billion in revenue for the fourth quarter of 2024, a 0.1% rise over the previous year. Continuing operations’ adjusted earnings per share decreased 2% year over year to $1.68. The company reported net revenues of $23.6 billion for the entire year 2024, with organic growth up 1.2% year over year.
One recent development is the hiring of William Brown as CEO in 2024, who has started reorganizing the company to improve profitability and streamline operations. The business has also prioritized innovation, introducing new goods including data center beam optics and the LCD 2.0 platform.
Andrew Obin, a BofA analyst, increased his price objective for the firm from $160 to $175 on January 22 and maintained his Buy recommendation for the stock. According to the analyst, 3M Company (NYSE:MMM) shares “reacted well to solid execution and better than expected guidance.” The analyst also thinks that the company will give more detail and visibility on its long-term net productivity initiatives and that a short-term improvement in short-cycle industrial activity could offer “another source of earnings upside over the next several quarters.”
Overall, MMM ranks 5th on our list of Best Performing Dow Stocks So Far in 2025. While we acknowledge the potential for MMM to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than MMM but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and Complete List of 59 AI Companies Under $2 Billion in Market Cap
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
