1:39PM EDT October 18. 2012 - Search engine giant Google may have been as surprised as anyone on Wall Street Thursday, when its third-quarter results became available during the trading day.
Trading in the stock was halted at 12:50 p.m. ET, after numerous reports just after 12:30 p.m. that the company's revenue was lower than expected for the quarter and that it earned $11.3 billion, missing expectations.
Google shares fell as much as 8% before trading was halted. And by 1:21 p.m., CNBC and other news outlets were reporting that R.R. Donnelly had filed the numbers early, making them available to the public.
Tech titans Microsoft and Google (GOOG) had said they would release their earnings after the market closed at 4 p.m. ET.
Around 12:30 p.m. ET, Google shares initially headed lower after Reuters said Google reported lower-than-expected revenue and net income of $11.3 billion, missing expectations.
"As long as I've been doing this, I have never seen a company reporting in the middle of the day." says Christine Short, senior analyst at S&P Capital IQ research firm.
At around 1:30 p.m. ET, the company said it would hold a news conference at 4:30 p.m. ET, to discuss earnings and how the earnings had become available before the market close.
"It affects everyone from big trading firms down to the individual investor ... (catching) everyone by surprise," said J.J. Kinahan, chief derivatives strategist at TD Ameritrade. With trading in Google shares halted, "it is time for everyone to take a breath, reassess and not get too emotional and let the scenario and facts play out."
Prior to the unexpected release of the numbers, expectations had been lifting for Google, a key player in the faster growing Internet advertising business and the company behind the popular
Android operating system for smartphones.
The results were widely anticipated because investors want to see how Google is doing with ad revenue. Later today, investors will hear how Microsoft is faring on technology spending, on personal computers in the case of Microsoft and online ads with Google, is faring heading into the critical fourth quarter.
The timing is especially critical for Microsoft (MSFT), as the languishing tech giant prepared to unleash one of its more aggressive slates of new products in years. They include a new version of Windows, called Windows 8, and the latest iteration of its smartphone operating system called Windows Phone.
"With the Windows 8 launch, there are many unknowns," says Andrew Lange, analyst at Morningstar.
Expectations for Microsoft have been muted as many of the other major players in the PC business, including Intel and Hewlett-Packard, have warned of sluggish demand. Analysts are calling for Microsoft to earn 63 cents a share, down from the 68 cents it earned in the quarter a year ago, says S&P Capital IQ.
Intel, the largest maker of chips for PCs that has been slow to get into the smartphone market, gave investors the latest bad news. The company said Tuesday that net income fell 14% and the immediate future is looking challenging.
Expectations were higher for Google, a key player in the faster growing Internet advertising business and the company behind the popular Android operating system for smartphones.
Analysts expect Google to earn $8.69 a share using accepted accounting principles, up 4% from what it reported in the same quarter a year ago. But these results add to what's been a year of strong growth for the company, with Google expected to boost its earnings this year by more than 20%.
Investors have turned bullish on Google, briefly pushing its market value ahead of Microsoft's last week, as they see the company's ability to integrate its recent purchase of Motorola Mobility, a smartphone maker. Meanwhile, the risk of social media and Facebook stealing lucrative online ads has proven minimal at this point.
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