Yahoo's accounts disappoint analysts' expectations, but investors are smiling all the same: if in fact the group led by Marissa Meyer has announced a disappointing quarterly report, the markets are rewarding the spin-off plans of its remaining stake in the Chinese giant Alibaba ecommerce.
Yahoo announced last night its tax-free spin-off in a new public company, called SpinCo, of 15% in Alibaba. The shares of the new group will be distributed to the current shareholders of Yahoo, whose stock rose by more than 7 percent at the end of the session on Wall Street.
The spin-off of the share, valued at 40 billion, will take place in the fourth quarter of 2015 and will allow savings of 16 billion in taxes. The move also reassures investors that the group's resources aren't ending up in controversial takeovers by CEO Marissa Meyer, who is looking to revive the company but sees her leadership challenged.
Yahoo will retain its 35,5% stake in Yahoo Japan, valued at $7 billion. Yahoo also reported fourth-quarter 2014 revenue of $1,18 billion, down 2 percent and below $1,19 billion expectations, and advertising revenue fell 5 percent. Profits fell to $166 million from $348, or earnings per share of 30 cents versus $29 expected.
