3M Highlights AI Initiatives Across Sales, Operations, and Product Development

3M outlined several artificial intelligence initiatives during its second quarter 2026 earnings call on July 21, spanning internal sales tools, back-office automation, product development, and a recently announced data center infrastructure partnership with Microsoft. Chairman and Chief Executive Bill Brown and Chief Financial Officer Anurag Maheshwari discussed the initiatives alongside the company's quarterly financial results.

The company reported a second quarter operating margin of 24.9%, up 40 basis points year over year, and earnings per share of $2.40, up 11%. Free cash flow reached $1.3 billion. 3M also raised its full-year EPS guidance to a range of $8.80 to $8.95, representing growth of 9% to 11%.

Brown highlighted a strategic partnership announced the previous week under which Microsoft became the first hyperscale cloud provider to deploy 3M's patented Expanded Beam Optical (EBO) connector technology in Azure data centers. Brown described data centers as one of the fastest-growing markets in the world and said the technology helps customers stand up AI capacity more quickly.

"Our connectors install faster, hold up far better to dust and handling, and help customers stand up AI capacity more quickly," Brown said.