Google Accidentally Reports Weaker Than Anticipated Third Quarter Earnings
Tech giant Google (click ticker for report: GOOG) accidentally reported weaker than expected third quarter earnings today. Printing firm RR Donnelly (click ticker for report: RRD) mistakenly filed Google’s third quarter earnings just after noon eastern time, leading to some erratic trading in shares of the search giant. Regardless, the report revealed that revenue surged 45% year-over-year to $14.1 billion, boosted by the firm’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility (a bit lighter than anticipated). Earnings per share fell 7% year-over-year to $9.03, much worse than consensus expectations. Paid clicks surged 33% year-over-year and 6% sequentially, driven by increasing mobile ad share, in our view. However, cost-per-click fell significantly, down 15% year-over-year, while traffic acquisition costs grew to 26% of revenue from … Read more