Netflix reported its third quarter results last night, which were actually above analyst estimates, but shares are tradign down over 35% in premarket trading as investors react to news of such a massive drop in the company’s subscribers, its first in years.

Earnings for the quarter were $1.16 per share, on revenues of $822 million. Analysts had been expecting to see the company report earnings of $0.96 per share, on revenues of $812.5 million.

Typically when a company reports such strong earnings and revenues its stock trades sharply higher, but investors feel as though the subscriber drop that Netflix saw during the quarter may not be over just yet. Netflix has historically been very good at understanding what its customers want, and that is the reason why it became the leader in DVD rental and streaming video, but a couple big blunders earlier this year have left its subscribers, and investors scratching their heads and wondering if Netflix has lost its ability to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to giving its subscribers what they want.

Netflix’s first big mistake was to raise its monthly fees. While this did result in a new record for revenues, the company paid for that with few subscribers, and in its highly competitive insdustry, subcriber numbers are the key to success. Following the decision to raise its rates, it made an even more dramatic blunder in its decision to split its streaming and DVD rental business. It later changed its mind and reversed the decision to split to the 2 businesses, but the impact the decision had on its customers was not so easy to reverse.

Has Netflix lost touch with its customers? It definitely did earlier this year, and while it has tried to correct its mistakes, you have to wonder if / when the next big mistake will come from the company’s management. Netflix still has a solid business model, but once a company loses its customers confidence, it is very hard to regain it, and we will just have to see if Netflix is able to get back on track, or if customers will continue to look for other ways to get their streaming media.

The stock is down 37%, or $44.00 in premarket trading to $74.77

Going into this afternoon’s earnings report, analysts had been expecting to see Alcoa post earnings of $0.22 per share, but were disappointed to see earnings come in under expectations at $0.15 per share.

Despite missing its earnings estimate, the company was able to post better than expected revenues for the quarter of $6.4 billion, above the $6.2 billion that analysts had been expecting to see.

Alcoa’s CEO, Klaus Kleinfeld, blamed the lower than expected earnings numbers on falling aluminum prices, and uncertainty in Europe, which resulted in a tough environment for the company. Despite the lower than expected earnings, the company did maintain its growth forecast for the remainder of the year.

Since Alcoa is the first major company to report earnings, and since it makes aluminum for a wide variety of industries, it is viewed as a bellwether stock, and investors tend to place a lot of importance on its earnings reports. Just because Alcoa disappointed this afternoon does not necessarily mean that the rest of the earnings season is going to be weak, but it definitely does not paint a pretty picture either. We will get a better idea of what to expect during the remainder of the earnings season later this week with JP Morgan and Google report their quarterly numbers.

The stock was up a little over 2% in today’s session, but has dropped 4.2% in after hours trading.

Going into this morning earnings report, analysts had been expecting to see Procter & Gamble report earnings of $0.97 per share. Actual quarterly earnings came in a penny under analyst forecasts at $0.96 per share.

In addition to posting slightly lower than expected Q3 earnings, Procter & Gamble also lowered its full year forecast as the company continues to deal with rising costs.

Run up costs in materials and fuel is forcing the company to raise its prices on several of its biggest name products including Pampers, Gillete Razors, Charmin toilet tissue, as well as Duracell batteries. Certain parts of the country will see the price increases in effect by July.

Sales were in-line with analyst estimates at $20.2 billion during the quarter.

Full the full year, the company cut its top end estimate by 5 cents to a range of $3.91 to $3.96 per share.

The stock has been severely lagging against of the overall Dow Jones average which is up around 15% over the past year. During the same period PG stock is up just 1%.

The stock initially fell following this morning’s report, but have since rebounded a bit and is currently trading up 0.4% to $64.29.

Here are a few of the names that will be reporting tomorrow:

• Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY) : Bristol Myers will be reporting its first quarter results tomorrow. The company is expected to report earnings of $0.51 per share, verses $0.41 during the same period last year. The stock closed the day up 0.5% to $24.34 and will report earnings before the market opens.
• Exxon Mobil (XOM) : Exxon will be reporting its first quarter results tomorrow. The company is expected to report $1.41 per share, compared to $0.92 during the same period last year. It will announce its results before the market opens. Exxon stock traded up 1.35% today to $69.19.
• Procter & Gamble (PG) : Procter & Gamble will be reporting its fiscal third quarter results tomorrow. The company is expected to report earnings of $0.82 per share, compared to $0.84 during the same period last year. The stock finished the day up 0.87% to $63.17 and will announce its quarterly results before the market opens.

1. Gamestop (NYSE: GME): The video game retailer is due to report its third quarter numbers tomorrow morning before the opening bell. Analysts are expecting the company to show earnings of 30 cents per share. For the same period last year, the company had earnings of 34 cents per share. The stock is trading up 0.6% on the day.

2. Sears Holding (NASDAQ: SHLD): The retailer is going to be reporting its third quarter numbers tomorrow, and analysts are expecting to see a loss of $1.09. For the same period last year the company had a loss of 90 cents a share. The stock is trading down 1.2% on the day. The company will be reporting its numbers before the market opens.

3. Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS): The clothing retailer is going to be reporting its third quarter results tomorrow, and Wall Street is looking to see the company show 44 cents per share. For the same period last year the Gap had earnings of 35 cents per share. The stock is trading down 0.8% in today’s market.

A big day for retailers, and will give us a better view of just how strong the current recovery actually is.