Yahoo facing pressure from investors

Internet company Yahoo, which has been under pressure to cut costs in recent months, will release quarterly earnings tomorrow.

Analysts expect it to announce earnings of $0.13 per share for the quarter, which would be $0.17 worse than the same quarter last year.

Yahoo last reported quarterly earnings on October 20th, posting a full-year earnings per share estimate of $0.59, some $0.98 worse when compared to the previous year’s annual results.

Analysts had expected the company to post earnings of 17 cents per share on gross revenue of $1.26 billion.

The company last month said it would pursue a tax-free spinoff of the core internet business, which could take at least a year.

However, investors have been looking for an outright sale, fearing that the business could lose more value in the face of competition from Google and Facebook.

In January activist shareholder Starboard Value urged Yahoo to overhaul its management and board.

It said that “significant changes” were needed at the company.

In a letter sent to Yahoo’s board Starboard said the internet pioneer’s decision to spin off its core web businesses would require shareholders to wait another year “while the existing leadership continues to destroy value”, and that the move was “not acceptable.”

With sales hovering around 2006 levels, Yahoo has been facing pressure from investors for a long time.