Google issued a rare advisory to Wall Street on Friday that analyst estimates for its fourth quarter financial results are flawed.
The world’s No. 1 search engine, which reports quarterly results next week, said most analysts have not adjusted their estimates to reflect the pending $2.35 billion sale of the Motorola Home business.
“As of this writing, a majority of Wall Street analysts who cover Google have not reflected the Home business as discontinued operations in their estimates,” wrote Google Treasurer Brent Callinicos.
The discrepancy means the fourth-quarter net revenue that Google reports could appear to be less than the $12.34 billion average that Wall Street analysts are expecting.
The company will release results on Tuesday after the close of markets.
The advisory is rare for Google, which doesn’t provide financial forecasts and has limited analyst interactions. In December, Google agreed to sell the Motorola Home TV set-top box business to Arris Group.
Google stock closed at $704.51 yesterday, down by $6.81.