Yahoo! logs profit, raises the bar
Internet media company posts third-quarter earnings that top most forecasts, sees stronger sales.
October 9, 2002: 5:01 PM EDT
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Internet media company Yahoo! Inc. Wednesday logged a third-quarter profit that topped expectations and raised its revenue forecast for 2002.
After the closing bell, Yahoo! said its earnings for the quarter were $28.9 million, or 5 cents a share. That compares with a net loss of $24.1 million, or 4 cents a share, for the same period last year.
At $248.8 million, Yahoo!'s third-quarter revenue rose 50 percent over the year-ago $166.4 million and topped most analysts' expectations.
By First Call's count, Wall Street analysts generally had been expecting Yahoo! to post a third-quarter profit of 4 cents a share on roughly $238.4 million in revenue.
At the same time, Yahoo! (YHO: Research, Estimates) raised the bar for 2002, saying it expects revenue between $930 million and $955 million. The consensus estimate of analysts was revenue nearer $925.9 million.
While online advertising sales still account for the bulk of its revenue, Yahoo! has been moving to diversify its revenue stream. Under Terry Semel, who took over as Yahoo!'s CEO in April 2001, the company has taken a number of concrete steps to diversify its revenue stream.
Among them has been: a revenue-sharing agreement with pay-for-placement search-listing provider Overture Services Inc.; the purchase of HotJobs.com; and building up its portfolio of premium consumer services.
During the third quarter, Yahoo! said revenue from marketing services, which included online advertising, totaled $147.4 million, up 22 percent from the same period last year.
The company attributed that rise primarily to an increase in revenue from the Overture deal.
At the same time, Yahoo! said fees and listings revenue totaled $83.1 million, a 124 percent increase compared with the same period last year. Excluding HotJobs, which the company did not own a year ago, the increase was 66 percent.
Yahoo! attributed that increase to more paying customers for its fee- and listings-based services, including Yahoo! Personals and its new Internet access service offered in partnership with SBC Communications (SBC: Research, Estimates).
Shares of Yahoo! rose 2 percent to $10.18 in heavy after-hours trade after rising nearly 5 percent on Nasdaq ahead of the earnings report. |
