Google Not Only Misses Earnings, It Accidentally Releases Them Early, and Market Doesn’t Like It

Google’s third-quarter earnings were accidentally released today ahead of schedule, and they weren’t good. Analysts were expecting revenue of $11.86 billion and profit of $10.65 per share, but the company turned in $11.33 billion and $9.03 per share.

Instead of coming out at the end of the market day, the earnings release popped out in the middle, more than three hours early.

Google’s filing with the SEC includes a “PENDING LARRY QUOTE” line marked in the draft for CEO Larry Page.

Shares immediately dropped — they are currently down 9 percent, to $687.30. Trading has now been halted.

CNBC is reporting that the halt came at Google’s request, not via an automatic circuit breaker at the Nasdaq. In a statement from its IR group, Google is placing the blame for the prerelease on its printer, R.R. Donnelley:

“Earlier this morning RR Donnelley, the financial printer, informed us that they had filed our draft 8K earnings statement without authorization. We have ceased trading on NASDAQ while we work to finalize the document. Once it’s finalized we will release our earnings, resume trading on NASDAQ and hold our earnings call as normal at 1:30PT.”

Here’s Citi analyst Mark Mahaney’s quarterly “cheat sheet,” so you can see what the Street was expecting to see later this afternoon: