NEW YORK — Google Inc.’s stock plunged suddenly on Thursday afternoon after it released its third-quarter earnings report early, apparently by mistake.
The Web search and advertising company’s stock fell $68.19, or 9 percent, to $687.30 before trading was halted to give investors a chance to digest the news. Google’s report had been slated for release after the close of regular trading.
In a regulatory filing, Google said it earned $2.18 billion, or $6.53 per share, during the three months ending in September. That compared with net income of $2.73 billion, or $8.33 per share, last year.
The earnings would have been $9.03 per share, if not for Google’s accounting costs for employee stock compensation and restructuring charges related to the acquisition of Motorola. Analysts polled by FactSet were expecting $10.63 per share, on average.
Revenue climbed 45 percent from last year to $14.1 billion. Excluding compensation for websites that generate traffic for Google’s ads, revenue was $11.33 billion. Analysts were expecting $11.5 billion.
The strong dollar appeared to contribute to Google’s miss. The company said that if foreign exchange rates had been stable, its revenue would have been $136 million higher.
Excluding this summer’s acquisition of cellphone maker Motorola Mobility, Google’s revenue rose 18 percent.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The Web search and advertising company’s stock fell $68.19, or 9 percent, to $687.30 before trading was halted to give investors a chance to digest the news. Google’s report had been slated for release after the close of regular trading.
In a regulatory filing, Google said it earned $2.18 billion, or $6.53 per share, during the three months ending in September. That compared with net income of $2.73 billion, or $8.33 per share, last year.
The earnings would have been $9.03 per share, if not for Google’s accounting costs for employee stock compensation and restructuring charges related to the acquisition of Motorola. Analysts polled by FactSet were expecting $10.63 per share, on average.
Revenue climbed 45 percent from last year to $14.1 billion. Excluding compensation for websites that generate traffic for Google’s ads, revenue was $11.33 billion. Analysts were expecting $11.5 billion.
The strong dollar appeared to contribute to Google’s miss. The company said that if foreign exchange rates had been stable, its revenue would have been $136 million higher.
Excluding this summer’s acquisition of cellphone maker Motorola Mobility, Google’s revenue rose 18 percent.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.