RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Altria Group (MO) on Thursday reported second-quarter net income of $2.15 billion.

The Richmond, Virginia-based company said it had net income of $1.16 per share. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, were $1.23 per share.

The results topped Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of five analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.17 per share.

The owner of Philip Morris USA, the nation's largest cigarette maker posted revenue of $6.94 billion in the period. Its adjusted revenue was $5.61 billion, which also topped Street forecasts. Three analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $5.36 billion.

Altria expects full-year earnings in the range of $4.56 to $4.62 per share.

Altria shares have risen 16% since the beginning of the year, while the S&P's 500 index has risen 17%. The stock has increased 12% 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 MO at https://www.zacks.com/ap/MO

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