Posts Tagged search

Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz warned analysts that hard times would continue.The quarterly shortfall of $303 million is its first since 2002. New CEO offers few details about recovery plan.

Jessica Guynn reporting from San Francisco — Yahoo Inc. reported a $303-million shortfall Tuesday, its first quarterly loss since 2002, as the struggling Internet company took charges to acknowledge the shrinking value of its business.

Cutbacks by advertisers, especially on Web banners, hurt Yahoo’s revenue, which also dropped for the first time in seven years.

Eight days into her new job, Yahoo Chief Executive Carol Bartz warned analysts during a conference call that tough times would continue. But before the presentation, as required by law, Yahoo’s head of investor relations read the list of risk factors — things that could go wrong for shareholders and depress the stock even further.

“I should have understood all those risks before I took this job,” Bartz quipped.

The moment of levity was short-lived. The continued deterioration of Yahoo’s business in the fourth quarter, the last under former CEO Jerry Yang’s watch, made Bartz’s assignment even tougher.

The Sunnyvale, Calif., company reported a net loss of $303 million, or 22 cents a share, compared with a profit of $206 million, or 15 cents, a year earlier. Revenue fell 1% to $1.81 billion.

Still, investors had braced for worse. Yahoo’s stock rose more than 5% to $11.95 in after-hours trading, after closing up 1.5% to $11.34 in regular trading before the earnings report.

Read the rest of this entry »