the fourth quarter of 2009, no goodwill impairment was indicated for any of the reporting units. In addition, 3M’s market value at December 31, 2009 of approximately $59 billion is significantly in excess of its equity of approximately $13 billion.

 

Factors which could result in future impairment charges, among others, include changes in worldwide economic conditions, changes in competitive conditions and customer preferences, and fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates. These risk factors are discussed in Item 1A, “Risk Factors”, of this document. As of December 31, 2009, 3M had approximately $1 billion of goodwill related to 3M Purification Inc., $800 million related to Optical Systems, and $200 million of goodwill associated with the Security Systems Division. If future non-cash impairment charges are taken, 3M would expect that only a portion of the long-lived assets or goodwill would be impaired. 3M will continue to monitor its reporting units in 2010 for any triggering events or other indicators of impairment.

 

Income Taxes:

 

The extent of 3M’s operations involves dealing with uncertainties and judgments in the application of complex tax regulations in a multitude of jurisdictions. The final taxes paid are dependent upon many factors, including negotiations with taxing authorities in various jurisdictions and resolution of disputes arising from federal, state, and international tax audits. The Company recognizes potential liabilities and records tax liabilities for anticipated tax audit issues in the United States and other tax jurisdictions based on its estimate of whether, and the extent to which, additional taxes will be due. As of January 1, 2007, the Company follows guidance provided by ASC 740, Income Taxes, regarding uncertainty in income taxes, to record these liabilities (refer to Note 8 for additional information). The Company adjusts these reserves in light of changing facts and circumstances; however, due to the complexity of some of these uncertainties, the ultimate resolution may result in a payment that is materially different from the Company’s current estimate of the tax liabilities. If the Company’s estimate of tax liabilities proves to be less than the ultimate assessment, an additional charge to expense would result. If payment of these amounts ultimately proves to be less than the recorded amounts, the reversal of the liabilities would result in tax benefits being recognized in the period when the Company determines the liabilities are no longer necessary.



NEW ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS

 

Information regarding new accounting pronouncements is included in Note 1 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

 

FINANCIAL CONDITION AND LIQUIDITY

 

The strength of 3M’s capital structure and consistency of its cash flows provide 3M reliable access to capital markets. As indicated in the following table, at December 31, 2009, 3M had $4.6 billion of cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities and $5.710 billion of debt. Debt included $5.097 billion of long-term debt, $522 million related to the current portion of long-term debt and other borrowings of $91 million. The current portion of long-term