Aflac: Q4 Earnings Snapshot

COLUMBUS, Ga. (AP) _ Aflac Inc. (AFL) on Wednesday reported fourth-quarter earnings of $1.04 billion.

On a per-share basis, the Columbus, Georgia-based company said it had net income of $1.57. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring gains, came to $1.28 per share.

The results beat Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of six analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.25 per share.

The insurer posted revenue of $5.43 billion in the period, which also beat Street forecasts. Six analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $5.21 billion.

Aflac shares have risen 9% since the beginning of the year, while the S&P's 500 index has climbed 22%. In the final minutes of trading on Wednesday, shares hit $63.69, a rise of 38% 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