Bristol-Myers Beats 3Q Forecasts as Top Drugs Deliver

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co (NYSE:BMY) reported better-than-expected third-quarter results, fueled by strong sales of its treatments for blood clots, cancer and arthritis.

The U.S. drugmaker said on Friday it earned $721 million, or 43 cents per share, in the quarter. That compared with $692 million, or 42 cents per share, in the year-earlier period.

Excluding special items, the company earned 45 cents per share. Analysts, on average, expected 42 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Revenue fell 4 percent to $3.92 billion, largely due to the company's earlier divestiture of diabetes products, but were above Wall Street estimates of $3.8 billion.

(Reporting by Ransdell Pierson; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)