LOS ANGELES — The Walt Disney Co. reported unexpectedly soft fourth-quarter earnings Thursday, hurt by a calendar quirk, the shift of some ESPN revenue to the third quarter and continued weakness in the theme park business.

Disney was caught in a moment of uncharacteristic disarray Thursday afternoon after an employee mistakenly posted its financial results early — during trading instead of after the market close, as is the company’s policy — and shares tumbled nearly 3 percent, to $35.93.

The timing may not have been as jarring had the company’s results been more in line with expectations, as has been the case for a string of quarters. For the quarter that ended Oct. 2, Disney reported a profit of $835 million, or 43 cents a share, a 7 percent decrease from $895 million, or 47 cents a share, a year earlier.