Eagle Eye Opener: Technology Investors Hurt by Lower-than-Expected Earnings at Google and Microsoft; EU Delay in Forming a Single Banking Regulator Clips European Markets

Google Gaff Shoots Share Price in Foot (NYTimes.com) While Microsoft Misses Earnings Mark As Well (BusinessInsider.com)

High-tech investors are incurring paper losses as both Google (GOOG) and Microsoft (MSFT) came up short in their latest earnings reports.

The Google results, released inadvertently before the market closed yesterday, fell far enough below expecations that the news sent its stock price plummeting. Even though the company’s Q312 net revenue was $11.33 billion, up from $7.51 billion a year ago, net income sank to $2.18 billion, $6.53 a share, down from $2.73 billion, or $8.33 a share, during the same quarter a year ago. The miss sent shares tumbling 8% in after-hours trading — knocking billions off of the company’s valuation.

Microsoft similarly missing expected earnings for its just-completed Q1 fiscal quarter. The company reported GAAP revenue of $16.01 billion, down from expectations of $16.42 billion, while its earnings per shaere (EPS) met expectations at $0.56 per share. The miss in revenue is expected to send shares slightly down in today’s trading.

EU’s Inability to Create Concrete Plan Sends Lukewarm Message to Investors (YahooFinance.com)

Yesterday’s failure of the 17 members of the European Union (EU) to come together on a specific agreement for a single banking supervisory body caused both the euro and European markets to swoon. Analysts now worry there’s no urgency for the EU to come to a quick decision, leaving investors grasping for straws. Germany’s DAX fell 0.3% to 7,412, while France’s CAC-40 dropped 0.2% to 3,527. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares remained flat at 5,918.