Live from Sunnyvale, it’s Yahoo!’s second-quarter earnings show!
CEO Marissa Mayer, marking her first year atop the company, delivered the company’s quarterly results in a first-of-its-kind video conference, offering a glimpse into some of the company’s upcoming product plans, including online video.
Despite the production value of the show, which looked like a nightly news broadcast with Mayer and CFO Ken Goldman sitting behind a desk, Yahoo wasn’t quite ready for its close-up.
Yahoo! reported that net revenue was down slightly at $1.07 billion. The company also cut its sales forecast for the current quarter and full year.
The core business reflects the challenges that Mayer faces in turning around the company as display advertising declined 11 percent.
Yahoo!’s overseas investments in China’s Alibaba Group and Yahoo! Japan continued to be the biggest cash cows for the company, contributing $225 million. Income from operations was $137 million.
“Ali-wow-ba,” said analyst Colin Gillis of BGC Partners. “That’s a much bigger number than people were expecting. It’s already the majority driver of profits and it just keeps widening the gap.”
Investors have been hoping for a massive payday from Yahoo!’s 24 percent stake in Alibaba Group, the Chinese e-commerce giant that is expected to go public at a valuation of as much as $100 billion.
During the video conference, Mayer gave investors a look at some of the technology Yahoo! is investing in, saying video is one of four core areas for growth.
“They’re going to do a YouTube,” said Gillis, comparing it to Google’s video-sharing service.
Mayer also offered insights into the billion-dollar Tumblr acquisition last quarter. Although they are working on advertising for the popular user-generated platform, she said they didn’t expect revenue this year.