Marrisa Mayer, a former Google executive and current CEO of Yahoo has been trying to restore Yahoo’s business and image since last July.
Yahoo released its earnings report for the first quarter of 2013 today, with better-than-expected (non-GAAP) earnings of $420 million, or 38 cents per share. But the company’s first quarter revenue fell short of Wall Street targets and its display advertising business experienced declining sales for the second quarter in a row. Net revenue excluding fees shared with partner websites, was $1.07 billion in the first quarter, roughly flat from the year-ago period, according to Yahoo.
In a press release Marissa said “We saw continued stability in our business, strengthened our team, and started the year with fast execution against our products and partnerships, we are moving quickly to roll out beautifully designed, more intuitive experiences for our users. I’m confident that the improvements we’re making to our products will set up the Company for long-term growth.”
Marissa Mayer said in a conference call that Yahoo is nearing the end of its first “sprint” during her tenure as CEO. She said ‘sprint’ was about “getting people to believe in Yahoo” and making the company an appealing place to work.
She said the company is now turning around and that the number of résumés Yahoo receives tripled over the course of the quarter. Fourteen percent of Yahoo’s hires in the past quarter who left have also returned.
Yahoo ended the quarter with 11,300 employees, down 19 percent from the same period last year.
Mayer said the company’s focus is shifting. She now wants to focus on “Building beautiful products and executing well against Yahoo business strategy.” If Yahoo builds beautiful products, it will start seeing more engagement, which will lead to revenue and eventually growth, she said.
This is Marissa Mayer’s third quarter as CEO of Yahoo—she is at a crucial stage of turning the company around.
