Johnson and Johnson Q3 earnings 2018

Andrew Harrer | Bloomberg | Getty Images

A job seeker talks to a Johnson & Johnson job recruiter at a career fair in Washington, D.C.

Johnson & Johnson third-quarter earnings and revenue results beat Wall Street’s predictions.

Here’s how Johnson & Johnson reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by Refinitiv:

• Earnings per share: $2.05, adjusted, vs. $2.03 expected
• Revenue: $20.3 billion vs. $20.05 billion expected

J&J reported third-quarter net income of $3.93 billion, or $1.44 per share, up from $3.76 billion, or $1.37 per share a year earlier. Excluding items, J&J earned $2.05 per share, above the $2.03 expected by analysts surveyed by Refinitiv.

Net sales rose 3.6 percent to $20.35 billion, surpassing expectations of $20.05 billion.

Pharmaceuticals, specifically cancer drugs, have fueled J&J’s growth while its consumer and medical device businesses have lagged. J&J recently completed the divestiture of its LifeScan diabetes business to Platinum Equity for $2.1 billion. It also relaunched its iconic baby care line in August after facing a 20 percent sales decline since 2011.

Earlier this month, J&J inked an agreement with Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals to develop its gene-silencing Hepatitis B treatment and take a minority stake in the company. The deal could potentially be worth more than $3.7 billion.