Dow rises 518 points after 3M earnings and Braze takeover deal

Key Facts

U.S. stocks rose during trading on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, with the Dow Jones leading gains after 3M's results, while Salesforce's agreement to acquire Braze sent the latter's shares sharply higher. According to the Associated Press, the Dow climbed 518 points, or 1%, as of 11:45 a.m. Eastern time. The Nasdaq Composite posted a more modest gain of 0.2% at the same time, with stocks turning in a mixed performance during the session. 3M shares rose 5.1% after the company's earnings beat expectations, alongside its announcement of an increase in full-year adjusted earnings per share guidance. Braze's advance followed the announcement of an all-cash acquisition agreement, bringing earnings and takeover news together in U.S. stock moves during the session.

3M said in its third-quarter earnings statement that adjusted earnings per share reached $2.50, up 12% from a year earlier under the company's new adjusted presentation basis. Earnings per share had been expected at $2.39, according to Investing.com's earnings calendar, putting reported earnings above market estimates for the period. Sales under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles totaled $6.6 billion, up 1.0% from the corresponding quarter a year earlier. Revenue estimates, however, stood at $6.61 billion, leaving reported sales slightly below expectations. The company's results thus combined year-over-year growth in earnings and sales with a beat on earnings per share, while revenue fell narrowly short of analysts' estimates.

In its updated guidance for 2026, 3M forecast adjusted earnings per share of between $9.10 and $9.15, a range incorporating the new presentation basis. The company had announced a previous range of between $8.80 and $8.95 for full-year adjusted earnings per share in July, according to its earnings statement at the time. The guidance increase accompanies a change in the adjusted accounting presentation basis, limiting direct comparison between the two announced ranges. In the second quarter, reported adjusted earnings per share were $2.40 under the presentation basis used during that period. Those earnings grew 11% from a year earlier, according to the company's statement for the previous quarter, which preceded its annual outlook update and third-quarter results.

In the Braze deal, Salesforce said in its announcement that it had signed a definitive agreement to acquire the company for "$47.50 in cash per share" of Class A stock. The transaction has an enterprise value of approximately $5.66 billion, according to the buyer's statement on the day the agreement was announced. Following the announcement, Braze shares jumped 50.9% to $45.32 during Tuesday's trading, according to prices reported by the Associated Press. The share price remained below the cash consideration specified in the agreement during that trading, with completion subject to closing procedures and conditions. Salesforce aims to use the acquisition to enhance cross-channel marketing personalization in its Marketing Cloud platform through Braze's real-time engagement and AI decision-making capabilities.

Elsewhere in corporate earnings, General Motors shares fell despite the company's earnings exceeding market expectations, according to the Associated Press's coverage of the session. The decline came as the midpoint of the company's annual guidance range fell below analysts' estimates, putting the outlook for the rest of the year at the forefront of investors' response to its results. In AI stocks, the agency linked pressure to rising interest rates in the bond market and their effect on financing chip purchases. That effect extends to the cost of financing needed for purchases, as the sector's shares respond to bond-market developments alongside corporate news. The Dow's gains were thus accompanied by a limited advance in the Nasdaq, while shares of companies reporting better-than-expected earnings moved in different directions depending on their guidance.

The Braze deal awaits approval from the target company's shareholders and the required regulatory clearances, alongside satisfaction of customary closing conditions, according to Salesforce's announcement. These approvals are requirements for completing the acquisition under the definitive agreement announced by the company, before the cash purchase is carried out. Salesforce expects the deal to close during its fiscal year 2028, the timeframe it specified in the acquisition announcement. On monetary policy, the Federal Reserve holds its next meeting on October 27 and 28, under the Federal Open Market Committee's meeting schedule for 2026. The meeting follows a session in which stocks responded to corporate earnings and the Braze deal, alongside pressure on AI shares linked to bond-market interest rates.