Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2012/10/22/yahoo_third_quarter_mayer/

Yahoo! treads! water! in! slow! third! quarter!

Sweetens up shareholders with $4bn bonus

By Iain Thomson in San Francisco

Posted in On-Prem, 22nd October 2012 21:12 GMT

In her first full quarterly results since taking the helm of the good ship Yahoo! Marissa Meyer reported it was steady as she goes, with revenues and operations results bobbing up or down only a percentage point or two.

"Yahoo! had a solid third quarter, and we are encouraged by the stabilization in search and display revenue," said Mayer in a statement. "We're taking important steps to position Yahoo! for long-term success, and we're confident that our focus on quality and improving the user experience will drive increased value for our advertisers, partners and shareholders."

The company reports GAAP revenue of $1.2bm, down 1 per cent on this time last year, but with revenue excluding traffic acquisition costs up 2 per cent. GAAP income from operations fell 14 per cent, indicating that there's still a way to go in getting Yahoo! back up and running. Search revenues are up 11 per cent.

Shareholders will be getting over $4bn in benefits, with a payoff from the resale of stock to Alibaba netting them $3.6bn and Yahoo spending another $646m in share repurchasing. This should keep them sweet while Meyer whips her new crew into shape.

Most of the major management positions have changed hands since Mayer took over, and she's got stormy water ahead. On Monday afternoon she'll host an analyst's call to explain how to navigate the company towards Isles of Plenty. ®