Page 25 - Aruba Today
P. 25
BUSINESS A25
Thursday 26 November 2015
Yahoo’s CEO is running out of time to turn things around
MICHAEL LIEDTKE Yahoo President and CEO Marissa Mayer speaks in Las Vegas. Mayer’s nearly four-year attempt ing former NBC News an-
Associated Press to turn around Yahoo needs a turnaround itself, repeating a pattern of futility that has hobbled chor Katie Couric to han-
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — one of the Internet’s best-known companies for the past decade. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson) dle online video reports
Marissa Mayer’s nearly and acquired the trendy
four-year attempt to turn At least a dozen members percent from the previ- repeatedly outmaneuver- blogging service Tumblr for
around Yahoo needs a of Yahoo’s management ous year after subtracting ing Yahoo with products $1.1 billion.
turnaround itself, repeating team have left in the past the company’s advertis- that attracted more traffic The moves haven’t really
a pattern of futility that has year. The departures have ing commissions, its steep- and advertising. paid off, although Mayer
hobbled one of the Inter- included two of Mayer’s est decline since Mayer Mayer’s arrival was sup- continues to boast about
net’s best-known compa- top lieutenants, former became CEO. It’s likely to posed to herald a prom- Yahoo’s progress in the im-
nies for the past decade. marketing and media fare even worse in the Oc- ising new era after the portant mobile and video
Like her predecessors as chief Kathy Savitt and for- tober-December quarter, disheartening downfalls markets. None of Yahoo’s
Yahoo CEO, Mayer has mer development and ac- given that that company of the four CEOs that pre- services rank among the
been unable to snap the quisitions chief Jacqueline expects net revenue to ceded her. Those execu- top 50 free apps in Apple’s
company out of a finan- Reses. drop by about 20 percent. tives — Terry Semel, Jerry store, and the company’s
cial funk despite spend- Yahoo declined to com- Now Mayer is drawing Yang, Carol Bartz and expansion into original vid-
ing billions on acquisitions ment for this article. up plans for another ma- Scott Thompson — either eo programming resulted
and new projects. Yahoo’s Mayer has repeatedly ex- jor shake-up, one likely resigned or were dumped in a $42 million charge to
stock has sunk by 35 per- pressed confidence that to eliminate hundreds of when it became apparent account for the duds.
cent so far this year as in- Yahoo is heading in the jobs as Yahoo sharpens its that they couldn’t revive Investors are still await-
vestors’ frustration with the right direction, most re- focus on “fewer products the growth that made Ya- ing proof that that Tumblr
follies have mounted, spur- cently during her October with higher quality,” as she hoo one of the Internet’s or any other of Mayer’s
ring calls for her replace- review of the company’s said in October. Mayer biggest successes during acquisitions will be worth
ment. disappointing quarterly promised more details in the dot-com boom of the what Yahoo paid.
“This is like an ‘emperor performance. “I have very January. 1990s. “Across all dimensions, her
has no clothes’ situation,” aggressive expectations It wasn’t supposed to get Things started well. Mayer efforts haven’t delivered
says Eric Jackson, a Yahoo for Yahoo’s core business,” this bleak with Mayer at bought dozens of startups the results that people
shareholder and manag- she said. “We have the the helm. She came to Ya- to bring in more engineer- might have expected,”
ing director of the New right talent, the right strat- hoo as a widely respected ing expertise in mobile says S&P Capital IQ analyst
York hedge fund Ader In- egy, and the right assets to technology executive who devices and overhauled Scott Kessler.
vestment Management. drive long-term sustainable had helped build Google Yahoo’s apps for weather, At one point in Mayer’s
“The company and the growth for our investors.” into the Internet’s most sports, Flickr and email. She tenure, Yahoo’s stock
shareholders would be Yahoo’s revenue fell 8 powerful company while made big splashes by hir- had more than tripled
better served with her from where it stood when
leaving.” she took over. The gains,
Jackson, though perhaps though, were almost en-
Mayer’s most outspoken tirely tied to Yahoo’s large
critic, isn’t alone. stake in Alibaba, which
After conferring with inves- it acquired in a $1 billion
tors, SunTrust analyst Rob- deal negotiated a de-
ert Peck recently wrote a cade ago. That holding
letter to Yahoo’s board — in retrospect, Yahoo’s
recommending that the best investment ever —
directors consider firing soared in value as Aliba-
Mayer. Activist investor Jef- ba’s e-commerce bazaar
frey Smith of hedge fund boomed, prompting in-
Starboard Value is urging vestors to snap up Yahoo
Mayer to abandon a spin- shares in order to profit
off of the Yahoo’s most while Alibaba was still pri-
valuable asset — a $30 vately held.q
billion stake in Chinese e-
commerce giant Alibaba Deere’s profit tops forecasts even as sales fall
Group — and sell the com-
pany’s Internet business in- MOLINE, Ill. (AP) — Even which have made farm- ing to FactSet. Deere said al equipment manufactur-
stead. though sales of its green ers less likely to buy new it expects sales of its equip- er posted revenue of $5.93
If Mayer continues down tractors, bulldozers and equipment. And falling oil ment to fall 7 percent in fis- billion in the period, which
her current course, Smith other equipment fell sharp- prices has hurt sales of its cal 2016, compared with fell short of Street forecasts.
is threatening to lead a ly, Deere & Co. reported construction equipment. the year before. Five analysts surveyed by
shareholder mutiny aimed better-than-expected Sales of its agriculture For the quarter ending Oct. Zacks expected $6.13 bil-
at overthrowing Yahoo’s fourth-quarter earnings as equipment, which include 31, it reported fiscal fourth- lion. For the year, the com-
board next year — a re- it cut costs. tractors, fell 25 percent in quarter net income of pany reported profit of
bellion that, if successful, The Moline, Illinois-based the quarter from a year $351.2 million, or $1.08 per $1.94 billion, or $5.77 per
could lead to her ouster. company also posted an ago. Sales of its construc- share. The results surpassed share. Revenue was re-
Yahoo’s own employees earnings outlook for the tion equipment fell 32 per- Wall Street expectations. ported as $25.78 billion.
seem dispirited as well. year that surpassed Wall cent in the period from a The average estimate of 10 Shares of Deere rose $3.38,
Mayer’s approval rating Street expectations. Its year ago. analysts surveyed by Zacks or 4.4 percent, to $79.72 in
among those who posted shares rose more than 4 For the fiscal year 2016, the Investment Research was afternoon trading Wednes-
on the employer-review percent in afternoon trad- company expects earn- for earnings of 74 cents day. Deere shares have
website Glassdoor.com ing Wednesday. ings of about $1.4 billion, per share. Deere said it dropped about 10 percent
has fallen to 73 percent Deere has been hurt by above the $1.33 billion an- cut costs by 21 percent to since the beginning of the
from 99 percent after her weak commodity prices alysts expected, accord- $6.26 billion. The agricultur- year.q
July 2012 hiring.
