Yahoo (YHOO) delivered a bit of a surprise for its third-quarter earnings, beating Wall Street’s expectations handily and offering signs that CEO Carol Bartz is turning the company around.
For the quarter, the company reported net income of $186 million, or 13 cents per share, on revenue of $1.58 billion. Adjusted for expenses, income was $213 million, or 15 cents per share. Analysts had been expecting earnings of 7 cents per share on revenue of $1.12 billion. Revenue was down 12 percent from the year-ago quarter - before Bartz took the reins of a troubled company in need of a rebound - but was flat, compared to the most recent quarter. (Statement, Techmeme)
In a statement, Bartz said:
With revenue coming in above our guidance and flat sequentially, we had a solid third quarter that signals our major businesses have stabilized. With new products like Yahoo! homepage, our brand revitalization campaign and expansion in the Middle East through Maktoob.com, our execution is improving and we’re focused on what we do best - being the center of people’s online lives.
Earlier this year, Bartz declared that a comparison of Yahoo to Google (GOOG) is an inappropriate one - and has spent much of the past few months playing up the Yahoo experience, from enhancements to the home page and Yahoo Mail to a new brand marketing campaign that highlights the importance of the user and his/her experience.
Shares of Yahoo were down slightly for the day, closing at $17.17 in regular trading. Shares were on the rise in after-hours trading.
Executives will host a conference call Tuesday afternoon. I’ll be tuned in and will update this post with additional highlights.
