Google’s Q2 results fall short of expectations

If not for costs incurred for employee stock compensation, Google said it would have earned $4.63 per share. That figure missed the average earnings estimate of $4.74 per share among analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial.

It marked just the fourth time that Google hasn’t exceeded analyst expectations in its four years as a public company.

Investors expressed their dismay as Google shares plummeted $42.44, or 8 percent, in Thursday’s extended trading after closing at $533.44, down $2.16.

Google’s second-quarter revenue fared slightly better than earnings, rising 39 percent to $5.37 billion from $3.87 billion at the same time last year.

After subtracting commissions paid to its ad partners, Google’s revenue totaled $3.9 billion ? about $30 million above the average analyst estimate.