Google Shares Fall on Premature Earnings Release (by R.R. Donnelley)

Google Inc. prematurely released its quarterly earnings midday Thursday, reporting that profit declined 20 percent as total costs jumped and advertising prices continued to slide. The unexpected release, via a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, triggered a selloff in Google shares. The stock dropped about 9 percent before trading was suspended .

Google issued a statement blaming R.R. Donnelley & Sons, the company that prints its financial documents, for the early release.

In a statement, R.R. Donnelly said it was “fully engaged in an investigation to determine how this event took place and are pursuing our first obligation—which is to