Goldman Sachs, J&J earnings top expectations

NEW YORK -- The New York-based banking giant, long considered one of the strongest in its sector, said it earned $2.72 billion, or $4.93 a share, after preferred stock dividends, up from $1.66 billion, or $3.39 a share, a year earlier.

Analysts forecast earnings of $3.54 a share for the quarter.

Amid the mushrooming credit crisis and after the collapse of Goldman's competitor Lehman Brothers, the government provided hundreds of financial firms with cash to bolster their balance sheets.

Goldman recorded a charge of 78 cents per share as it repaid the government's $10 billion investment in the bank as part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Analysts predict other banks may not be as strong as Goldman Sachs as they were hit with greater loan losses because of their focus in retail banking and their more conservative approach to business after the credit crisis.

Johnson & Johnson's profit fell 3.5% due to lower sales, particularly for its prescription drugs, and the weak dollar.

Still, the world's most broadly based health care company handily beat Wall Street expectations, partly due to tight cost controls.

The maker of baby shampoo, contraceptives and biotech drugs earned $3.21 billion, or $1.15 a share. That was down from $3.33 billion, or $1.17 a share, a year ago.