The third quarter delivered "an overall mixed performance," Teva CEO Shlomo Yanai said in a statement from the company. But he added that the company expects a strong fourth quarter, including an improved U.S. generics business. Teva recently had an exclusive launch of the generic version of Eli Lilly and Co.'s top-selling antipsychotic Zyprexa.

In the third quarter, North American revenue tumbled 20 percent to $2.18 million partly because of a lack of significant new generic drug launches. Teva also said sales of key products like the generic equivalents of the antidepressant Effexor XR and the heartburn drug Prevacid were either absent or "substantially diminished" compared with last year's quarter.

The North American performance was balanced in part by 34 percent sales growth in Europe to $1.34 billion. Sales there were helped mainly by the inclusion of German drugmaker Ratiopharm, which Teva acquired.

The company also saw growth with some of its branded drugs. Global sales of multiple sclerosis treatment Copaxone rose 26 percent to $1.02 billion.

Exchange rate differences between this year's and last year's quarter also accounted for about $148 million in revenue.

Selling and marketing expenses climbed 7 percent to $806 million.

The company now expects adjusted earnings of between $4.92 and $5.02 per share on sales of between $18.3 billion and $18.6 billion. That compares to its previous guidance calling for earnings of $4.90 to $5.20 per share on revenue ranging from $18.5 billion to $19 billion.

Analysts expect, on average, earnings of $5.02 per share on $18.39 billion in sales.

U.S.-traded shares of Teva fell 28 cents to $38.80 in Wednesday morning trading, while the Dow Jones industrial average rose 1.3 percent.