- Yahoo today reported revenues of $1,580 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2009, a decrease of 13% from the first quarter of 2008. Excluding the impact of currency rate fluctuations, revenues for the first quarter of 2009 would have declined 8 percent from the first quarter of 2008. From the press release:
- Highlight for investors: This isn’t the prettiest quarter for Yahoo, but by no means is it time to jump ship. Yahoo is not immune to the ongoing economic downturn, but Bartz is steering the ship in the right direction. She is focusing on cost management; unloading useless properties, laying off and most importantly working on a deal with Microsoft (although not officially disclosed today). The Microsoft deal, could potentially save Yahoo 1.3B a year in revenue, which would have turned this bad quarter upside down. Also, take a look at Yahoo’s balance sheet. It is still strong, and as chief financial officer Blake Jorgensen says “we are continuing to generate free cash flow which provides us with the flexibility to make strategic investments in key talent, platforms, products and infrastructure, even during this economic downturn. We also are making selective adjustments to our spending to accelerate those strategic investments.” I see Yahoo at $20 by the end of the year.
Marketing services revenues declined 12 percent and fees revenues declined 20 percent. As expected, revenues were reduced by the effects of currency rate fluctuations, the sale of Kelkoo and lower fees revenues from broadband partnerships, voice-over IP services and subscription music offerings. Excluding the effects of these items, revenues would have declined 3 percent. Net income per diluted share in the first quarter of 2009 was $0.08, compared to $0.37 in the first quarter of 2008. Net income for the first quarter of 2008 included a non-cash gain of $401 million, or $0.29 per diluted share, related to Alibaba Group’s initial public offering of Alibaba.com, net of tax. Non-GAAP net income per diluted share in the first quarter of 2009 was $0.15, compared to non-GAAP net income of $0.18 per diluted share in the first quarter of 2008. Non-GAAP net income per diluted share excludes stock-based compensation expense, costs for advisors, restructuring charges, net, and the non-cash gain related to Alibaba.com.