Google shares plunge after premature release of dissapointing earnings

Shares of Internet giant Google drop sharply after the premature release of disappointing earnings by its printer RR Donnelley hours ahead of schedule.

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (OCTOBER 18, 2012) (NASDAQ) - Google Inc inadvertently released its draft quarterly results hours ahead of schedule on Thursday (October 18), significantly missing expectations on both revenue and earnings and wiping 9 percent off the market value of the Internet search and advertising leader.

Google's stock dropped 8 percent - the company's worst day since January 20 - to close at $695 (USD) after the Internet giant's third-quarter results showed earnings and revenue fell short of forecasts. Trading of the stock was halted at 12:50 p.m EDT (1650 GMT). Trading resumed at 3:20 p.m. (1920 GMT).Google said its financial printers, RR Donnelley, filed its draft results statement without authorization. The company said it was working now to finalize the statement.

The company, which recently overtook Microsoft Corp to become the second-largest U.S. technology company by capitalization, had been due to release its results after the market close.

Google, which has been struggling to turn around a loss-making cell phone maker Motorola Mobility that it bought for $12.5 billion, reported a 20 percent dive in net income to $2.18 billion. Excluding certain items, it earned $9.03 a share, vastly underperforming the $10.65 analysts had expected, on average.

Google reported net revenue - excluding traffic acquisition costs - of $11.3 billion for the third quarter, below Wall Street's expectations for about $11.9 billion.