Error sees Google shares tumble

The paranoia surrounding online tech giants in the wake of the disappointing Facebook IPO saw Google’s share price plummet and trading suspended after an error saw their third quarter results, with a surprising 20 percent drop on the previous year, released early.

The results, $2.18bn lowers than expected, were said to be leaked by printing firm RR Donnelly after they filed an early draft of the results, which were meant to be released once trading for the day was over.

Panic ensued, with shareholders rushing to offload their stock and the price dropping by nine percent before being suspended. Larry Page, Google’s CEO, later apologised for the error, before releasing the planned statement that claimed the company had enjoyed a strong quarter.

He said: “We had a strong quarter. Revenue was up 45 percent year-on-year, and, at just fourteen years old, we cleared our first $14bn revenue quarter.”

The drop in share price wiped an astonishing $19bn of the value of the company, before a slight claw back by the end of the day’s trading.

Google is going through an interesting period in their attempts to dominate so many different markets. While the traditional search and advertising side of the business continues to perform well, the firm has secured a dominant position in the mobile phone sector, and continues to push ahead with its Android operating system for phones and tablet devices.

The company introduced a low-cost laptop computer on Thursday, the $249 Chromebook, which hopes to gain a strong foothold in the PC market.

The mobile side of the business, while bringing in $8bn in revenues, is potentially hampered by the purchase of struggling Motorola Mobility for $12.5bn in 2011, which it is trying to refocus around their Android mobile operating system.