WASHINGTON - General Electric said this morning its first-quarter earnings fell 36 percent on sharply lower profits at its troubled finance arm, but the results beat Wall Street forecasts in a glimmer of good news for the struggling company.

The results are further proof of how much the woes of GE Capital, which finances businesses ranging from credit cards to commercial real estate, have hobbled one of the nation's biggest companies. But the earnings also suggest GE's strategy of relying on its base of industrial businesses to carry it through a rough year might be paying off, at least for now.

GE, which has a stake in almost every sector of the economy, from light bulbs to windmills, reported net income of $2.74 billion, or 26 cents per share, after paying preferred dividends. That fell from $4.30 billion, or 43 cents per share, a year earlier.

Earnings from continuing operations were also 26 cents per share. That surpassed the 21 cents per share forecast by analysts. Shares of the Fairfield, Conn.-based company fell 38 cents, or 3.1 percent, to $11.89 in early trading after rising in pre-market trading.