MMM vs CL vs RBC Stock Comparison

3M, Colgate Palmolive and RBC Bearings Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
MMM 3M Co
$172.79 +1.9% 1M +2.5% 1Y
Market cap
$88.92B
P/E
25.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$25.25B
Div. yield
0.02%
Industrial Machinery Industrials
3 wins
CL Colgate Palmolive Co
$93.11 +8.2% 1M +19.4% 1Y
Market cap
$73.96B
P/E
36.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$21.05B
Div. yield
0.02%
Personal Care Products Consumer Staples
5 wins
RBC RBC Bearings INC
$477.93 -5.6% 1M +15.9% 1Y
Market cap
$15.09B
P/E
47.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.95B
Div. yield
–
Industrial Machinery Industrials
4 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Colgate Palmolive leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Colgate Palmolive 5, RBC Bearings 4, 3M 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionMMMCLRBCLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $88.92B $73.96B $15.09B MMM
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 25.1x 36.3x 47.1x MMM
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 19.5x 24.8x 34.2x MMM
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +1.7% +5.2% +17.3% RBC
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 14.0% 9.7% 16.4% RBC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 22.0% 27.2% 8.4% CL
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.6x 1.7x 1.1x RBC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.02% 0.02% 0.00% CL
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +2.5% +19.4% +15.9% CL
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +3.0%/yr +4.2%/yr +16.6%/yr RBC
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 25.6% 23.3% 28.4% CL
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 49/100 61/100 54/100 CL

Percentile Scorecard

MMMCLRBC

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisMMMCLRBC
Valuation 37 #129 of 203 47 #28 of 52 14 #175 of 203
Growth 59 #77 of 187 57 #22 of 50 90 #19 of 187
Profitability 86 #26 of 185 96 #3 of 45 78 #41 of 185
Financial Health 18 #179 of 219 51 #28 of 56 70 #67 of 219
Shareholder Returns 43 #87 of 153 53 #15 of 31 17 #127 of 153
Overall 49 61 54
  • MMM ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • CL ranked among 60 companies in Household and Personal Products
  • RBC ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodMMMCLRBCSPY
1 month +1.9%+8.2%-5.6% -0.8%
3 months -3.0%+1.3%-18.3% +3.5%
6 months +18.5%+10.6%-19.1% +7.0%
Year to date +7.9%+17.8%+6.6% +12.2%
1 year +2.5%+19.4%+15.9% +13.0%
3 years +136.1%+29.7%+121.2% +86.3%
3 years, per year +33.2%+9.1%+30.3% +23.1%
5 years +15.9%+22.7%+115.3% +68.6%
5 years, per year +3.0%+4.2%+16.6% +11.0%
10 years +24.1%+30.7%+579.5% +258.0%
10 years, per year +2.2%+2.7%+21.1% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureMMMCLRBCSPY
Volatility, 1Y 25.6%23.3%28.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 24.7%22.2%29.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.69-0.151.13 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.100.830.56 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -53.4%-31.1%-35.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -6.0%-6.1%-26.3% -1.8%
52-week high $183.81$99.14$648.89 $779.14
52-week low $141.20$74.98$406.45 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleMMMCLRBC
P/E now vs peer median 25.4xmedian 26.0x 36.5xmedian 18.6x 47.0xmedian 26.0x
P/S now vs peer median 3.5xmedian 1.9x 3.5xmedian 1.6x 8.0xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 16.1xmedian 14.0x 21.4xmedian 13.0x 27.3xmedian 14.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 33.4xmedian 21.4x 19.2xmedian 18.4x 40.7xmedian 21.4x
P/B now vs peer median 21.4xmedian 2.2x 131.1xmedian 2.1x 4.5xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.71median 1.26 3.01median 0.97 2.01median 1.26

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsMMMCLRBC
Revenue $25.25B $21.05B $1.95B
Gross profit $9.98B $12.72B $882.80M
Operating income $4.74B $3.13B $460.70M
Net income $3.58B $2.16B $320.60M
Free cash flow $2.68B $3.86B $385.20M
R&D $1.21B – –
EPS (diluted) $6.77 $2.54 $10.11
Cash & equivalents $4.84B $1.37B $124.50M
Total debt $15.00B $7.86B $806.20M
Shares (diluted) 522.60M 801.80M 31.71M
Enterprise value $70.37B $68.68B $14.71B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricMMMCLRBC
P/E 25.4x 36.5x 47.0x
P/FCF 33.4x 19.2x 40.7x
P/Operating cash flow 24.6x 16.7x 33.5x
P/S 3.5x 3.5x 8.0x
P/B 21.4x 131.1x 4.5x
P/Tangible book 42.2x -79.9x 7.4x
EV/EBITDA 16.1x 21.4x 27.3x
EV/EBIT 20.9x 25.8x 35.5x
EV/Revenue 3.9x 3.8x 8.4x
EV/FCF 37.0x 20.9x 42.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 27.3x 18.1x 35.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.71 3.01 2.01

Growth

14 metrics
MetricMMMCLRBC
Revenue growth (1Y) 1.7% 5.2% 17.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 10.7% 4.1% 9.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -1.8% 5.0% 19.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 17.0% 6.2% 11.8%
Operating income growth (1Y) -3.7% -26.9% 23.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 33.4% 1.1% 13.7%
Net income growth (1Y) 4.8% -29.2% 26.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 35.4% 8.9% 21.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 7.1% -29.0% 29.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 35.8% 12.2% 23.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 42.8% 13.7% 47.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -18.1% 12.9% 27.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 68.6% 14.5% 48.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -18.0% 17.9% 28.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricMMMCLRBC
Gross margin 39.5% 60.4% 45.2%
EBITDA margin 24.4% 17.9% 30.6%
Operating margin 18.8% 14.9% 23.6%
Pretax margin 17.5% 14.0% 21.1%
Net margin 14.0% 9.7% 16.4%
FCF margin 10.6% 18.3% 19.7%
Operating cash flow margin 14.4% 21.2% 23.9%
Return on equity 101.3% 410.8% 9.4%
Return on assets 9.8% 12.9% 6.2%
Return on invested capital 22.0% 27.2% 8.4%
Return on capital employed 18.7% 29.7% 9.9%
Asset turnover 0.7x 1.3x 0.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.0x 2.1x 1.5x
Stock comp / revenue 0.8% 0.8% 1.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricMMMCLRBC
Debt / assets 37.9% 46.8% 15.5%
Debt / equity 3.6x 13.9x 0.2x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.6x 1.7x 1.1x
Debt / FCF 5.6x 2.0x 2.1x
Liabilities / assets 89.5% 96.6% 33.4%
Equity / assets 10.5% 3.4% 66.6%
Interest coverage – 12.3x 4.4x
Current ratio 1.4x 1.0x 2.5x
Quick ratio 0.8x 0.5x 0.9x
Cash ratio 0.4x 0.2x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 4.10 6.88 6.76

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricMMMCLRBC
Dividend yield 1.8% 2.3% –
Net buyback yield 3.1% 1.5% -0.1%
Shareholder yield 4.8% 3.8% -0.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) 44.8% 84.3% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 59.9% 47.2% –
Dividend growth (1Y) 3.2% 1.1% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) -21.4% 1.9% –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusMMMCLRBC
Forward P/E 19.5xFY2026 24.8xFY2026 34.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $8.88FY2026 $3.75FY2026 $13.97FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +10.2%FY2026 +1.6%FY2026 +12.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +16.7% +11.7% +13.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $23.87BFY2026 $22.42BFY2026 $2.00BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -1.8%FY2026 +10.0%FY2026 +6.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +17.6% +2.1% +24.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersMMMCLRBC
Held by institutions 74.5% 83.8% 95.3%
Institutions holding 2,208 2,015 685
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.8% 0.0% +1.5%
Institutions buying 914 919 360
Institutions selling 837 720 240
Buyers to sellers 1.09 1.28 1.50

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

MMMCLRBC
MMM 1.00 0.26 0.28
CL 0.26 1.00 -0.07
RBC 0.28 -0.07 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, MMM, CL and RBC?

3M (MMM) is the largest by market capitalisation: 3M (MMM) $88.92B, Colgate Palmolive (CL) $73.96B, RBC Bearings (RBC) $15.09B.

Which stock is cheaper, MMM, CL and RBC?

3M (MMM) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (3M (MMM) 25.1x, Colgate Palmolive (CL) 36.3x, RBC Bearings (RBC) 47.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, 3M (MMM) is cheapest (3M (MMM) 19.5x, Colgate Palmolive (CL) 24.8x, RBC Bearings (RBC) 34.2x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

RBC Bearings (RBC) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: 3M (MMM) +1.7%, Colgate Palmolive (CL) +5.2%, RBC Bearings (RBC) +17.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

RBC Bearings (RBC) has the highest net margin (3M (MMM) 14.0%, Colgate Palmolive (CL) 9.7%, RBC Bearings (RBC) 16.4%). On return on invested capital, Colgate Palmolive (CL) leads (3M (MMM) 22.0%, Colgate Palmolive (CL) 27.2%, RBC Bearings (RBC) 8.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Colgate Palmolive (CL) returned the most: 3M (MMM) +2.5%, Colgate Palmolive (CL) +19.4%, RBC Bearings (RBC) +15.9%. Over five years, RBC Bearings (RBC) compounded fastest (3M (MMM) +3.0%/yr, Colgate Palmolive (CL) +4.2%/yr, RBC Bearings (RBC) +16.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Colgate Palmolive (CL) has the highest dividend yield: 3M (MMM) 0.02%, Colgate Palmolive (CL) 0.02%, RBC Bearings (RBC) 0.00%. RBC Bearings (RBC) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Colgate Palmolive (CL) has been the steadiest (3M (MMM) 25.6%, Colgate Palmolive (CL) 23.3%, RBC Bearings (RBC) 28.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, MMM, CL and RBC?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Colgate Palmolive (CL) leads on 5. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.