Don’t cry for Marissa Mayer — she’s not planning on leaving her job anytime soon.
That’s what Yahoo’s embattled CEO — nicknamed “Evita” by employees after the tearful musical about Argentina’s Eva Peron — has been signaling as she prepares to deliver a turnaround plan to Wall Street this week, sources told The Post.
Some surmise that the 40-year-old tech executive will unveil better-than-expected results from some areas of Yahoo’s core business when the company reports earnings on Tuesday.
That could include early signs of success from Mayer’s October deal with Google to supply search results and ads, according to insiders.
Meanwhile, rumors have circulated that Mayer will soon begin laying off 20 percent or more of Yahoo’s workforce and that she’s exploring a sale of the company’s stake in Yahoo Japan.
If Mayer is feeling emboldened about her turnaround vision, activist shareholders led by Starboard Value LP are equally dug in, dangling the prospect of a proxy battle to replace her, sources said.
“By definition, their plan can’t be good enough,” one source close to Starboard said. “Anything short of ‘We’re hiring bankers’ and ‘We’re going to explore selling the core business’ is not enough.”
Nevertheless, the source added, “boards don’t make decisions unless they’re unanimous,” noting that Mayer holds a seat.
“Marissa is less focused on a sale than we expected,” said one disappointed shareholder.
A Yahoo spokeswoman declined to comment.
Adding to the confusion, investors who have been agitating for a sale of Yahoo — and Mayer’s ouster — say they’re getting increasingly sympathetic “body language” from some members of Yahoo’s board.
Indeed, Yahoo’s financial chief, Ken Goldman, has held informal meetings with private-equity firms that have expressed interest in buying Yahoo’s core business, sources said.
“Yahoo’s been approached by numerous interested parties who’ve laid out their visions and been given the silent treatment,” one source said.
Among those who have met with Goldman are buyout giant TPG, sources said.
A source close to Silver Lake Partners pooh-poohed rumors that the buyout firm also had met with the CFO, although Silver Lake co-founder Egon Durban is said to be friendly with Goldman.
Vector Capital founder Alex Slusky has also discussed a bid with Yahoo, a source said. Slusky didn’t comment.
“You could say he’s looking to be thoughtful and make sure they understand what everyone’s saying and hearing,” one source said of Goldman.
The less charitable interpretation, the source added, is that Goldman “wants to stay a friend of private equity, and a lot of these conversations are self-serving. It sounds like a CFO who wants another job and has already moved on.”
That’s partly because the most likely outcome is for Yahoo to be scooped up by either Verizon, AT&T or Comcast, people close to the talks said.