Yahoo Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) announced its earnings for the first quarter of 2012 today. The company took in revenues of $1.08 in the first quarter turning that into an earnings per share of $0.24. The announcement compared with analysts estimations of $1.059 billion in revenue leaving investors with earnings per share of $0.17. The results compare almost evenly with the fourth quarter of 2012 when the company earned $0.24 per share excluding some items and $1.19 billion in revenue.
The report also revealed that the company bought back 5 million of its own shares during the quarter which helped to increase the earnings per share number.
Yahoo in a recent report said it expected revenue this quarter of between $1.03 billion and $1.1 billion. Last year the company had revenues of $1.064 billion in the same period and though the magnitiude of the fall is small the trend is not. The company is being squeezed by giants Facebook and Google and has not been able to fight back effectively in the battle to increase its advertising revenue. With both of those companies employing radical growing strategies, with Google launching Android and Facebook walling itself in more and more, Yahoo has been left behind as an internet giant from a past decade.
Yahoo has come under a lot of fire recently over its business practices and is facing a public proxy war with hedge fund manager Dan Loeb. Loeb wants to change the board and direction of the business which he sees as undervalued. The manager’s particular ire comes over the company’s management of Ali Baba the Asian search engine giant. . Worries over the direction that battle might take come the annual meeting or hopes that Loeb’s initiative to take over will be successful will put a great deal of pressure on the company’s shares for some time until the matter is resolved. Loeb is committed, launching a website aimed at spreading his ideas about the future of the company.
The company has announced plans to begin to change however. It is cutting costs by letting go 2000 people worldwide. The company’s real problem is revenue however and the company seems to have little idea of how to reverse the downward trend in their intake. Whether or not they can revitalize themselves will be the biggest question on every investor’s mind going forward deciding whether or not to hold the stock. The company’s plan to change its circumstances came out last week. Though light on real detail the release at least shows recognition of the company’s problems and a willingness to change from the board.
