Goldman to release results on website, not BusinessWire - source

By Olivia Oran and Richa Naidu

(Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc will release its third-quarter results next week through its website and Twitter, not through BusinessWire, as it seeks more control over the handling of sensitive information, a person familiar with the matter said.

Goldman's decision follows several incidents involving inadvertent or early releases of press statements and hacking of companies that provide such services.

The bank declined to comment.

"They're not necessarily pulling away," a BusinessWire spokesman said on Thursday. Goldman is just testing a new concept for disclosure this time and BusinessWire still has a good relationship with the bank, he said.

 

The U.S. Department of Justice charged nine people in August over allegations of hacking at three leading newswire services - BusinessWire, which is owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc , Marketwired and PR Newswire. (http://1.usa.gov/1VGyK8U)

The hackers stole more than 150,000 unpublished press releases containing financial information.

Goldman is often at the forefront when it comes to Wall Street's presence on social media. The bank's former technology banker, Anthony Noto, is now Twitter Inc's chief financial officer.

The bank rolled out a series of recruiting ads on Snapchat last month, becoming the first major U.S. lender to turn to the instant-but-fleeting messaging app for potential hires.

A growing number of companies have started to use Twitter to post links to their earnings since the Securities and Exchange Commission began allowing companies to use social media outlets to disclose material information two years ago.

For example, Zillow Group Inc , was one of the first to do so. The Seattle-based online real estate listings provider began posting its earnings on Twitter in May of 2013 and also inviting users to submit questions to management about the earnings via Twitter.

"We saw it as a way to get questions not just on our earnings call but from a broader base of investors," said Jeremy Wacksman, chief marketing officer at Zillow, in an interview with Reuters Wednesday morning.

Zillow also posts its earnings on its website and through GlobeNewswire.

(Reporting by Olivia Oran in New York and Richa Naidu in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Jessica Toonkel in New York; Editing by Kirti Pandey and Lisa Shumaker)