Average Rating: Rate this article:

Yahoo Sets Out To Regain Analysts' Respect By Michael Liedtke October 30, 2009 6:29AM     Among other things, executives detailed how a makeover of Yahoo's home page is getting people to spend more time on the Web site and providing more opportunities to show the advertising that generates most of the company's revenue. As visitors spend more time on the Web site, Yahoo is collecting more data about its users' interests.   Related Topics Yahoo Carol Bartz Search Advertising Microsoft Data Mining Behavioral Targeting Latest News Plasma-TV Ban Could Be Costly Barnes & Noble Nook Is Delayed Flat PC Shipments Hurt Dell's Stock Ballmer Says Windows 7 Sales Good New Pogoplug 'Cloud' Gets Social With its stock in a three-year funk, Yahoo Inc. set out Wednesday to persuade investors that the Internet company's struggles are nearly over. "We have fallen and we really want to get back up," Yahoo Chief Executive Carol Bartz said as she kicked off an all-day meeting with financial analysts. "We really want to get back on our tippy toes." Bartz vowed to make the company more profitable, and said she hoped Wednesday's session would win back some of the respect that the company lost as two previous CEOs were unable to deliver on their turnaround promises. As a first step, Yahoo pledged to boost its operating profit margin to a range of 15 percent to 20 percent by 2012, up from just 6 percent this year -- a performance Bartz derided as "pathetic." Although it didn't set a specific timetable for hitting a target, Yahoo said it believes it can increase its annual revenue by nearly $1.5 billion. The company, based in Sunnyvale, thinks it [will] rake in the extra money doing a better job of capitalizing on a marketing shift to the Internet in the U.S. and expanding its market share internationally. Yahoo expects it revenue this year to be about $6.4 billion, a decline of roughly 11 percent from 2008. Management also plans to increase profits by weeding out expenses, simplifying its computer coding and eliminating wasteful spending. Yahoo already has trimmed its work force by 13 percent, or 2,000 jobs, during the past year. Wednesday's meeting marked the first time that Yahoo provided analysts with an extended overview of its strategy in 3 1/2 years. Most public companies hold the presentations, known as "analyst days," every year or two. The Associated Press monitored Yahoo's meeting through a webcast. Yahoo has been losing ground to Google Inc. and other hot Web sites, such as Facebook. The problems have hurt Yahoo's earnings and revenue, contributing to a 47 percent drop in its stock price that has wiped out about $19 billion in shareholder wealth since the last analyst day. Yahoo shares fell 65 cents, or 3.9 percent, to close Wednesday at $16.04. Most of Wednesday's meeting was devoted to a procession of management executives elaborating on improvements to the company's Web site. Among other things, the executives detailed how a makeover of Yahoo's home page is getting people to spend more time on the Web site and providing more opportunities to show the advertising that generates most of the company's revenue. (continued...) 1  |  2  |  Next Page >   © 2009 Associated Press under contract with YellowBrix. All rights reserved.   Advertisement  World Wide Web 1.   Online Help for Holiday Shopping 2.   Five People Indicted in Internet Scam 3.   Vietnam Net Users Fear Facebook Ban 4.   Bing's Market Share Nears 10 Percent 5.   Social-Networking Lingo Recognized ICANN Approves International Names Dramatic increase in users expected. Average Rating: Online Help for Holiday Shopping The year's best deals on the web. Average Rating: Five People Indicted in Internet Scam Bilked federal agencies of millions. Average Rating:

Product Information and Resources for Technology You Can Use To Boost Your Business CRM Systems   Experience CRM—and Business—Success today with Salesforce.com. Contact Centers   Run Your Entire Contact Center in the Cloud with LiveOps Enterprise Hardware   Go Green with IBM Blade Center    Enterprise I.T.    Rackspace: It makes a difference when you focus on support.   Go Green with IBM Blade Center   APC introduces server room in a box solutions!   Tell us what you think. Take a survey.   Find out how much you can save with the SQL Server value tool.   See how AT&T can help protect your network. Enterprise Software   Read the Top 10 Reasons to Upgrade to Windows Server 2008 R2. Microsoft/Windows   Rackspace: It makes a difference when you focus on support   Read the Top 10 Reasons to Upgrade to Windows Server 2008 R2. Network Security   See how AT&T can help protect your network.

Network Security Spotlight

House Lawmakers Push Ban on Peer-to-Peer Software Stung by an embarrassing electronic leak revealing ethics investigations into dozens of lawmakers, Congress moved to prohibit federal employees from using the file-sharing software blamed for the disclosure.   GAO: Los Alamos Computer Security Has Weaknesses Security weaknesses uncovered in Los Alamos National Laboratory's computer network increase the risk of a classified-information breach, says the Government Accountability Office.   Computer Security Firm Fortinet Plans IPO This Week Fortinet plans to go public in an initial public offering, giving investors a chance to tap a network security provider with sales that are expected to grow. The IPO could be valued at $137.5 million or more.

Enterprise Hardware Spotlight

Flat Shipments Hurt Dell Despite Increased Earnings Dell's earnings are up and expectations are solid, but the company's stock still took a hit after analysts signaled the company isn't playing a key role in the PC market recovery.   New Pogoplug 'Personal Cloud' Does Social Networking Cloud Engines has released its newest version of the Pogoplug, a small "multimedia sharing device" that connects hard drives to the Internet and allows a user to access the files remotely.   Apple Tablet Rumored Delayed as Publisher Gears Up There have been so many rumors of an Apple tablet that it has taken on legendary status. But now the legend is being revised with reports of a delay and that a major publisher is getting ready.

Enterprise Technology Spotlight

Flat Shipments Hurt Dell Despite Increased Earnings Dell's earnings are up and expectations are solid, but the company's stock still took a hit after analysts signaled the company isn't playing a key role in the PC market recovery.   Smartphones: A Bigger Target for Security Threats Smartphones are increasingly prevalent and adept at handling more tasks, including trading stocks, paying bills, and buying stuff online. That makes them attractive to thieves and hackers.   FBI Says Hackers Targeting Law Firms, PR Companies Hackers are targeting law firms and public relations companies with a sophisticated e-mail scheme that breaks into their computer networks to steal sensitive data, often linked to large corporate clients.

Navigation NewsFactor Network Home/Top News | Enterprise I.T. | Hardware | Software | Communications | Network Security | Wireless Tech | Linux/Open Source Apple/Macintosh | Microsoft/Windows | World Wide Web | Data Storage | E-Commerce | Personal Tech | Tech Trends | Press Releases NewsFactor Network Enterprise I.T. Sites NewsFactor Technology News | Enterprise Security Today | CRM Daily NewsFactor Business and Innovation Sites Sci-Tech Today | NewsFactor Business Report NewsFactor Services FreeNewsFeed | Free Newsletters | Free Whitepapers | About NewsFactor Network | How To Contact Us | Article Reprints | Careers @ NewsFactor | Services for PR Pros | Top Tech Wire | How To Advertise Privacy Policy | Terms of Service © Copyright 2000-2009 NewsFactor Network. All rights reserved. Article rating technology by Blogowogo.