Yahoo Inc. said it plans to shut down GeoCities -- the personal profile service it bought for more than $4 billion in 1999 -- the latest casualty in Chief Executive Carol Bartz's campaign to shutter duplicative and underperforming products.
The company posted a notice on the GeoCities site saying it is no longer giving out new accounts for the service, which hosts user-created Web pages. The company said it would close the site later this year and will notify customers about how to save data they have uploaded to it, encouraging customers to upgrade to Yahoo's subscription Web hosting service.
The news comes as Yahoo said it will lay off 675 workers in the coming weeks through cuts targeted at certain products.
Ms. Bartz, who joined Yahoo in January, has already begun to reduce Yahoo's sprawling portfolio to focus on flagship services. The company recently announced it was closing two start-ups it acquired and tried to integrate in recent years: Jumpcut, an online video-editing service, and FareChase, a travel Web site.
GeoCities allows users to create personal pages with photos and other information, and to associate them with particular communities or neighborhoods. But its technology, designed for slower Internet connections, is crude by today's standards. Later social-networking sites, such as Friendster, MySpace and Facebook, have attracted much larger audiences.
[the article was originally published at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124052150483049791.html]
Showing posts with label carol bartz. Show all posts
Showing posts with label carol bartz. Show all posts
Monday, April 27, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Yahoo Posts 78% Profit dip, job cuts again
Yahoo Inc. posted a 78% quarterly profit decline as the recession hit its slumping advertising business and the Internet company said it would eliminate about 675 more jobs, or 5% of its work force.
The Sunnyvale, Calif., company was hurt across the board as companies scaled back their marketing budgets and flocked to cheaper alternatives. In particular, search-ad revenue, which had been a bright spot for Yahoo, declined 3% after several quarters of double-digit growth.
The results did little to alleviate the pressure on Chief Executive Carol Bartz to make big changes at Yahoo. While she has cut costs, Ms. Bartz is still working through strategic options, including possible sales of business units and a search-ad pact with Microsoft Corp. Yahoo executives declined Tuesday to discuss any talks with Microsoft.
Yahoo's display-ad business, which historically has been fed by spending from major brands such as car companies and telecommunications providers, dropped more quickly during the quarter. Revenue from display ads on sites Yahoo owns, such as Yahoo Finance and Yahoo Mail fell 13%, compared with a 2% decline in the fourth quarter.
Ms. Bartz, who joined Yahoo two weeks into the quarter, said the company was being pressured by the economy but that "brand advertising will grow in an economic recovery," allowing Yahoo to "take meaningful share." She said that some companies, such as non-U.S. auto makers, have increased their spending with Yahoo.
Overall, Yahoo's revenue fell 13% in the first quarter to $1.58 billion, from $1.81 billion a year earlier. Net income declined to $118 million, or eight cents a share, from $537 million, or 37 cents a share, in the 2008 first quarter, when Yahoo recorded a $401 million noncash gain.
Yahoo and Microsoft are still discussing an agreement that would enable the two companies to combine search-ad assets, with Microsoft taking over the business of selling search ads on Yahoo pages, people familiar with the matter said. But no deal appears imminent, said a person familiar with the situation, adding that it appears both sides "are still talking conceptually."
Yahoo Chief Financial Officer Blake Jorgensen in an interview said he was pleased with the company's quarterly results given the "headwind in the economy."
He added that Yahoo would continue to pay close attention to costs, beyond the fresh layoffs. The company laid off roughly 1,500 employees in December and about 1,000 people in the first quarter of 2008.
Ms. Bartz said the latest cuts would be targeted at certain businesses rather than across the board. She added that the cuts were designed to give Yahoo "flexibility to accelerate hiring in other areas" and said she is continuing to focus resources on larger products that are performing well, such as Yahoo Mail.
Shares of Yahoo, which reported earnings after the market's close, rose 3.8% in after-hours trading to $14.92, after rising 5.3% to $14.38 in 4 p.m. Nasdaq composite trading.
[the article was originally published at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124034487471340099.html]
The Sunnyvale, Calif., company was hurt across the board as companies scaled back their marketing budgets and flocked to cheaper alternatives. In particular, search-ad revenue, which had been a bright spot for Yahoo, declined 3% after several quarters of double-digit growth.
The results did little to alleviate the pressure on Chief Executive Carol Bartz to make big changes at Yahoo. While she has cut costs, Ms. Bartz is still working through strategic options, including possible sales of business units and a search-ad pact with Microsoft Corp. Yahoo executives declined Tuesday to discuss any talks with Microsoft.
Yahoo's display-ad business, which historically has been fed by spending from major brands such as car companies and telecommunications providers, dropped more quickly during the quarter. Revenue from display ads on sites Yahoo owns, such as Yahoo Finance and Yahoo Mail fell 13%, compared with a 2% decline in the fourth quarter.
Ms. Bartz, who joined Yahoo two weeks into the quarter, said the company was being pressured by the economy but that "brand advertising will grow in an economic recovery," allowing Yahoo to "take meaningful share." She said that some companies, such as non-U.S. auto makers, have increased their spending with Yahoo.
Overall, Yahoo's revenue fell 13% in the first quarter to $1.58 billion, from $1.81 billion a year earlier. Net income declined to $118 million, or eight cents a share, from $537 million, or 37 cents a share, in the 2008 first quarter, when Yahoo recorded a $401 million noncash gain.
Yahoo and Microsoft are still discussing an agreement that would enable the two companies to combine search-ad assets, with Microsoft taking over the business of selling search ads on Yahoo pages, people familiar with the matter said. But no deal appears imminent, said a person familiar with the situation, adding that it appears both sides "are still talking conceptually."
Yahoo Chief Financial Officer Blake Jorgensen in an interview said he was pleased with the company's quarterly results given the "headwind in the economy."
He added that Yahoo would continue to pay close attention to costs, beyond the fresh layoffs. The company laid off roughly 1,500 employees in December and about 1,000 people in the first quarter of 2008.
Ms. Bartz said the latest cuts would be targeted at certain businesses rather than across the board. She added that the cuts were designed to give Yahoo "flexibility to accelerate hiring in other areas" and said she is continuing to focus resources on larger products that are performing well, such as Yahoo Mail.
Shares of Yahoo, which reported earnings after the market's close, rose 3.8% in after-hours trading to $14.92, after rising 5.3% to $14.38 in 4 p.m. Nasdaq composite trading.
[the article was originally published at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124034487471340099.html]
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Yahoo Is Said to Plan More Layoffs
SAN FRANCISCO — Yahoo is planning a new round of layoffs, the first since Carol Bartz became chief executive in January, according to several people with knowledge of the situation.
Skip to next paragraph
The layoffs could affect several hundred employees and may be announced as early as Tuesday when Yahoo reports first-quarter financial results, said these people, who agreed to speak on condition of anonymity because the plan is confidential.
A Yahoo spokesman, Brad Williams, declined to comment, citing a company policy not to discuss rumors and speculation.
The cuts would be the third round of layoffs at Yahoo in little more than a year. The Internet company, which has been struggling for more than two years, laid off about 1,000 workers early in 2008. It cut 1,400 or so in the fourth quarter of last year, in continuing efforts to prune its sprawling online business and bring down expenses. It ended the year with 13,600 employees.
In recent years, Yahoo has seen its growth slow and has lost ground to Google in online search. Despite its huge online audience of roughly 500 million people worldwide, it also missed the opportunity to acquire fast growing social Web sites, like YouTube or Facebook, which have become a magnet, especially with younger users.
And its display advertising business, which was concentrated on high-priced ads, has been undercut by the proliferation of sites that offer marketers a way to reach audiences at lower prices. The company has suffered from a continuing exodus of executives and a series of revampings that have damaged employee morale.
Late last year, Yahoo was hit with the deepening recession, which took a further bite out of the company’s online advertising business.
“If you look at the changing economic environment and the changing leadership, it is not surprising that you would see further cuts at the company,” said Scott Kessler, a stock analyst with Standard & Poor’s.
Under Ms. Bartz, Yahoo has also been trying to sell some business units that it doesn’t consider core to its mission, including Hotjobs, the online recruiting service, according to several people familiar with the plans.
Ms. Bartz has been reviewing Yahoo’s businesses. In recent weeks, she renewed discussions with Microsoft, which attempted to buy Yahoo early last year, and later tried to acquire the company’s search business. The new round of talks center around a possible advertising partnership, not an outright acquisition or a sale of Yahoo’s search business, according to people familiar with the discussions.
[credit : http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/15/technology/companies/15yahoo.html?_r=1&ref=technology]
Skip to next paragraph
The layoffs could affect several hundred employees and may be announced as early as Tuesday when Yahoo reports first-quarter financial results, said these people, who agreed to speak on condition of anonymity because the plan is confidential.
A Yahoo spokesman, Brad Williams, declined to comment, citing a company policy not to discuss rumors and speculation.
The cuts would be the third round of layoffs at Yahoo in little more than a year. The Internet company, which has been struggling for more than two years, laid off about 1,000 workers early in 2008. It cut 1,400 or so in the fourth quarter of last year, in continuing efforts to prune its sprawling online business and bring down expenses. It ended the year with 13,600 employees.
In recent years, Yahoo has seen its growth slow and has lost ground to Google in online search. Despite its huge online audience of roughly 500 million people worldwide, it also missed the opportunity to acquire fast growing social Web sites, like YouTube or Facebook, which have become a magnet, especially with younger users.
And its display advertising business, which was concentrated on high-priced ads, has been undercut by the proliferation of sites that offer marketers a way to reach audiences at lower prices. The company has suffered from a continuing exodus of executives and a series of revampings that have damaged employee morale.
Late last year, Yahoo was hit with the deepening recession, which took a further bite out of the company’s online advertising business.
“If you look at the changing economic environment and the changing leadership, it is not surprising that you would see further cuts at the company,” said Scott Kessler, a stock analyst with Standard & Poor’s.
Under Ms. Bartz, Yahoo has also been trying to sell some business units that it doesn’t consider core to its mission, including Hotjobs, the online recruiting service, according to several people familiar with the plans.
Ms. Bartz has been reviewing Yahoo’s businesses. In recent weeks, she renewed discussions with Microsoft, which attempted to buy Yahoo early last year, and later tried to acquire the company’s search business. The new round of talks center around a possible advertising partnership, not an outright acquisition or a sale of Yahoo’s search business, according to people familiar with the discussions.
[credit : http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/15/technology/companies/15yahoo.html?_r=1&ref=technology]
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
