Industrial conglomerate 3M agreed on Tuesday to commit $7.35 billion over nine years to resolve a massive inventory of personal injury lawsuits tied to aqueous film-forming foam containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.
3M Agrees to $7.35 Billion Settlement for 120,000 Plaintiffs
District Court for the District of South Carolina. Between 115,000 and 120,000 plaintiffs are eligible to participate in the resolution. 3M will spread the nominal $7.35 billion commitment over a nine-year period, resulting in a pretax present value of approximately $5.8 billion.
The payment schedule starts with $50 million in 2026, followed by no payments in 2027. The company will record a pre-tax charge of $5.8 billion in the fourth quarter of 2026, treating this amount as a special item in adjusted results while leaving previously issued 2026 guidance unchanged. 3M did not admit liability or wrongdoing as part of the deal and stated it remained prepared to continue to defend itself in litigation if certain agreed settlement terms are not fulfilled.
Company Establishes Mechanisms to Handle Future Claims
To handle remaining and future personal injury claims both inside and outside the AFFF MDL, the settlement establishes several mechanisms.
This settlement is a significant milestone for 3M and substantially reduces litigation uncertainty,
William Brown, Chairman and CEO
Brown added that following the 2023 resolution with U.S. public water suppliers and a more recent settlement with the State of New Jersey, this agreement represents another important step in managing legacy PFAS matters. Plaintiffs’ counsel at South Carolina law firm Motley Rice welcomed the outcome in a statement Tuesday night, describing it as a favorable result for victims in urgent need of support to cover mounting medical bills and other costs associated with toxic PFAS exposure.
Manufacturer Completes Phaseout of PFAS Production
The current agreement builds on earlier PFAS settlements, including a 2023 resolution to pay up to $12.5 billion over 13 years to help U.S. public water systems address drinking water contamination. Those man-made compounds were used in items such as stain-resistant clothes and firefighting foam, taking a long time to disappear and building up in soil and water to raise health concerns such as liver damage, lower birth weight, reduced antibody response to vaccines, and kidney and testicular cancer.
The Maplewood-based manufacturer started moving away from some PFAS chemicals in 2000 and successfully completed its previously announced plan to discontinue the manufacture of all PFAS globally by the end of 2025. Alongside Tuesday’s litigation announcement, 3M’s board approved an additional $6 billion for share buybacks—bringing total available buyback authorization to $7.5 billion—and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.78 per share. Management scheduled an investor conference call for 8:30 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time on Wednesday, with details included in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings, while company shares rose roughly 1.1% to less than 2% in after-hours and post-market trading following the news released after markets closed on election night.