From Eric Savitz at Forbes:
Analysts covering Google shares are scrambling to assess the company’s disappointing Q3 results ahead of the company’s upcoming earnings call....MORE
The early read from the Street is that the numbers were not actually as bad as they looked at first blush and that some of the issues relate to weak results at the company’s Motorola business. Another factor: currency headwinds.
Here are some excerpts from the first batch of commentary on the report:
- Brian Pitz and Brian Fitzgerald, Jefferies: “At first blush GOOG missed 3Q on the rev and EPS lines, but a closer look suggests problems seem related to Motorola, where actual revenue of $2.58 billion missed our $3.25 billion estimate. Google core search seems healthy, with O&O and Network revenue roughly in-line with expectations. Paid Click and CPC growth were roughly in-line with our estimates.” The UBS analysts also note that revenue would have been $557 million excluding currency hedging.
- Scott Kessler, S&P Capital IQ: “The core Google business missed our estimates in terms of revenues and gross margin, reflecting some indications of relative weakness from Google sites. The Motorola business performed roughly in line with our expectations. Motorola recorded an operating loss of $527 million and GOOG took a $349 million charge associated with the business that was previously communicated.”
