COLUMBUS, Ga. (AP) _ Aflac Inc. (AFL) on Tuesday reported third-quarter earnings of $2.46 billion.

The Columbus, Georgia-based company said it had profit of $3.44 per share. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring gains, were $1.39 per share.

The results exceeded Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of five analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.12 per share.

The insurer posted revenue of $5.67 billion in the period, also exceeding Street forecasts. Four analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $5.48 billion.

Aflac shares have declined 33% since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has climbed almost 5%. In the final minutes of trading on Tuesday, shares hit $35.36, a decrease of 34% in the last 12 months.

This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on AFL at https://www.zacks.com/ap/AFL

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