Yahoo

Yahoo (Template:IPAc-en, styled yahoo! in its logo)<ref>Template:YouTube</ref> is an American web portal that provides the search engine Yahoo Search and related services including My Yahoo, Yahoo Mail, Yahoo News, Yahoo Finance, Yahoo Sports, y!entertainment, yahoo!life,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and its advertising platform, Yahoo Native. It is operated by the namesake company Yahoo! Inc., which is 90% owned by Apollo Global Management and 10% by Verizon.

Yahoo was established by Jerry Yang and David Filo in January 1994 and was one of the pioneers of the early Internet era in the 1990s.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, its use declined in the 2010s as some of its services were discontinued, and it lost market share to Facebook and Google.<ref name="telegraph.co.uk">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Etymology

The word "yahoo" is a backronym for "Yet Another Hierarchically Organized Oracle"<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> or "Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The term "hierarchical" described how the Yahoo database was arranged in layers of subcategories. The term "oracle" was intended to mean "source of truth and wisdom", and the term "officious", rather than being related to the word's normal meaning, described the many office workers who would use the Yahoo database while surfing from work.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, founders Filo and Yang insist they mainly selected the name because they liked the slang definition of a "yahoo" (used by college students in David Filo's native Louisiana in the late 1980s and early 1990s to refer to an unsophisticated, rural Southerner): "rude, unsophisticated, uncouth."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This meaning derives from the Yahoo race of fictional beings from Gulliver's Travels.

History

Founding

Jerry Yang and David Filo, the founders of Yahoo

File:Yahoo screenshot 1994.png

The Yahoo home page in 1994, when it was a directory. A search engine was added in 1995.

In January 1994, Jerry Yang and David Filo were electrical engineering graduate students at Stanford University, when they created a website named "Jerry and David's guide to the World Wide Web".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="How Jerry">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The site was a human-edited web directory, organized in a hierarchy, as opposed to a searchable index of pages. In March 1994, "Jerry and David's Guide to the World Wide Web" was renamed "Yahoo!" and became known as the Yahoo Directory.<ref name="How Jerry" /><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Directory">The Yahoo Directory — Once The Internet's Most Important Search Engine — Is To Close Template:Webarchive September 26, 2014, retrieved on June 3, 2017</ref><ref>Yahoo schließt seinen Katalog Template:Webarchive from golem.de, September 27, 2014, retrieved on June 3, 2017</ref> The "yahoo.com" domain was registered on January 18, 1995.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Yahoo was incorporated on March 2, 1995. In 1995, a search engine function, called Yahoo Search, was introduced. This allowed users to search Yahoo Directory.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Yahoo soon became the first popular online directory and search engine on the World Wide Web.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Expansion

Map showing localized versions of Yahoo web portals, as of 2023

Yahoo sign at Times Square, 2010

Yahoo grew rapidly throughout the 1990s. Yahoo became a public company via an initial public offering in April 1996 and its stock price rose 600% within two years.<ref name="auto">Template:Cite web</ref> Like many search engines and web directories, Yahoo added a web portal, putting it in competition with services including Excite, Lycos, and America Online.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> By 1998, Yahoo was the most popular starting point for web users,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and the human-edited Yahoo Directory the most popular search engine,<ref name="Directory"/> receiving 95 million page views per day, triple that of rival Excite.<ref name="auto"/> It also made many high-profile acquisitions. Yahoo began offering free e-mail from October 1997 after the acquisition of RocketMail, which was then renamed to Yahoo Mail.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> In 1998, Yahoo replaced AltaVista as the crawler-based search engine underlying the Directory with Inktomi.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Yahoo's two biggest acquisitions were made in 1999: GeoCities for $3.6 billion<ref name=buysgeo>Template:Cite news</ref> and Broadcast.com for $5.7 billion.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Its stock price skyrocketed during the dot-com bubble, closing at an all-time high of $118.75/share on January 3, 2000. However, after the dot-com bubble burst, it reached a post-bubble low of $8.11 on September 26, 2001.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Missed acquisitions of Google

Yahoo had two critical opportunities to acquire Google that it did not pursue. In 1998, Google's founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin approached Yahoo to sell their nascent search engine for $1 million, but Yahoo declined the offer.<ref name="BusInsiderGoogle">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="EconTimesGoogle">Template:Cite web</ref>

A more significant opportunity arose in 2002, when Yahoo's then-CEO, Terry Semel, entered into negotiations to purchase Google. Google was reportedly seeking a price of $5 billion. After weeks of negotiation, Yahoo's final offer was $3 billion, a figure that Google's leadership rejected, leading them to terminate the deal.<ref name="BusInsiderGoogle"/> The failure to acquire Google in this second instance is widely considered one of the largest strategic errors in corporate history.<ref name="ForbesBlunder">Template:Cite web</ref>

Yahoo began using Google for search in June 2000.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> Over the next four years, it developed its own search technologies, which it began using in 2004 partly using technology from its $280 million acquisition of Inktomi in 2002.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2003, Yahoo acquired Overture Services, Inc. (formerly GoTo.com) for $1.63 billion.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The deal was a strategic move to bolster its search advertising revenue in the face of growing competition from Google, as Overture was a pioneer in pay-per-click advertising.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In response to Google's Gmail, Yahoo began to offer unlimited email storage in 2007. In 2008, the company laid off hundreds of people as it struggled from competition.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In February 2008, Microsoft made an unsolicited bid to acquire Yahoo for $44.6 billion.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Yahoo!-Inc-Feb-2008-425">Template:Cite web</ref> Yahoo rejected the bid, claiming that it "substantially undervalues" the company and was not in the interest of its shareholders. Although Microsoft increased its bid to $47 billion, Yahoo insisted on another 10%+ increase to the offer and Microsoft cancelled the offer in May 2008.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Yahoo!-Inc-May-2008-8-K">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Yahoo!-Inc-Jun-2008-8-K">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

On December 12, 2014, Yahoo acquired video advertising provider BrightRoll for $583 million.<ref name="Yahoo!-Inc-Feb-2015-10-K">Template:Cite web</ref>

On November 21, 2014, Yahoo acquired Cooliris.<ref>By TechCrunch "[1] Template:Webarchive."</ref>

Decline, sale, and post-acquisition era

Template:Main In July 2009, after months of negotiation, Yahoo and Microsoft finalized a 10-year agreement known as the Yahoo and Microsoft Search Alliance.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Under the terms of the alliance, Yahoo's websites would utilize Microsoft's Bing for algorithmic search results, while Yahoo's sales team became the exclusive sales force for both companies' premium search advertisers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The partnership required a complex migration of Yahoo's search technology and advertising platform to Microsoft's adCenter (later rebranded to Bing Ads), with the transition for advertisers and organic search results completed in October 2010.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Carol Bartz, former CEO of Autodesk, replaced Yang as CEO in January 2009.<ref name="Yahoo!-Inc-Jan-2009-8-K">Template:Cite web</ref> In September 2011, she was fired by chairman Roy J. Bostock. The dismissal happened over the phone, a fact Bartz promptly communicated to employees in a widely publicized company-wide email.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> CFO Tim Morse was named as Interim CEO of the company.<ref name="Yahoo!-Inc-Sep-2011-8-K">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

After the brief tenure of Scott Thompson, who was replaced on an interim basis by Ross Levinsohn, Yahoo appointed Google executive Marissa Mayer as president and CEO, effective July 17, 2012.<ref name="Yahoo!-Inc-Jul-2012-8-K">Template:Cite web</ref>

Tenure of Marissa Mayer

Upon her arrival, Mayer implemented several significant cultural and strategic changes. One of her first major policy decisions in 2013 was to revoke the company's remote work option, requiring all employees to work from the office to foster a more collaborative culture.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She also initiated an aggressive acquisition strategy, purchasing over 50 startups, many of which were small, mobile-focused companies in an "acqui-hiring" approach to bring in new engineering talent.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In June 2013, Yahoo acquired blogging site Tumblr for $1.1 billion in cash.<ref name="Yahoo!-Inc-Jun-2013-8-K">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Yahoo!-Inc-May-2013-8-K">Template:Cite web</ref> While the acquisition was intended to attract a younger audience, it failed to meet revenue targets. In 2016, Yahoo wrote down $712 million of Tumblr's value, acknowledging the acquisition had not paid off.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Verizon later sold Tumblr in 2019 for a fraction of its purchase price.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Mayer's efforts to revitalize company culture included a controversial quarterly performance review (QPR) system implemented in 2013. The system required managers to rank employees on a bell curve, with those at the bottom often being terminated.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The policy was unpopular with many employees and led to a 2016 lawsuit from a former manager who alleged the system was used to conduct illegal mass layoffs.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Despite some positive metrics, such as a temporary increase in website traffic in 2013,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> the turnaround effort stalled. By January 2014, doubts about Mayer's progress emerged when she fired her high-profile COO hire, Henrique de Castro.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> By December 2015, Mayer was facing intense criticism as performance declined.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In February 2016, Mayer announced layoffs amounting to 15% of the Yahoo workforce.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Sale to Verizon

On July 25, 2016, Verizon Communications announced the acquisition of Yahoo's core Internet business for $4.83 billion.<ref name="Yahoo!-Inc-Jul-2016-8-K">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The deal, which excluded Yahoo's stakes in Alibaba Group and Yahoo Japan, was delayed by the revelation of major data breaches.<ref name="Yahoo!-Inc-Aug-2016-DEFA14A">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Yahoo!-Inc-Jul-2016-2-8-K">Template:Cite web</ref> On February 21, 2017, Verizon lowered its purchase price for Yahoo by $350 million and reached an agreement to share liabilities regarding the data breaches.<ref name="bloomberg-lower">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="usatoday-verizonshaved">Template:Cite web</ref> On June 13, 2017, Verizon completed the acquisition and Marissa Mayer resigned.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Yahoo, AOL, and HuffPost were then combined under a new company, Oath Inc., later called Verizon Media.<ref name="Yahoo!-Inc-Jul-2017-8-K">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="verge-oath">Template:Cite news</ref> The parts of the original Yahoo! Inc. not purchased by Verizon were renamed Altaba and liquidated in 2020.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref>

Post-Verizon era

In September 2021, investment funds managed by Apollo Global Management acquired 90% of Yahoo.<ref name="owneragain">Template:Cite news</ref> In November 2021, Yahoo announced that it was ending operations in mainland China due to the increasingly challenging business and legal environment.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In February 2023, Yahoo announced plans to lay off 20% of its total workforce by the end of the year, impacting more than 1,600 employees, as part of a major restructuring of its ad tech division.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Following the acquisition by Apollo, CEO Jim Lanzone initiated a strategy focused on a potential "turnaround", emphasizing the integration of artificial intelligence across Yahoo's products.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This strategy included several key acquisitions, such as Commonstock in 2023 and the AI-driven news platform Artifact in 2024.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Data breaches

On September 22, 2016, Yahoo disclosed a data breach that occurred in late 2014, in which information associated with at least 500 million user accounts,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> one of the largest breaches reported to date.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The United States indicted four men, including two employees of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), for their involvement in the hack.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On December 14, 2016, the company revealed that another separate data breach had occurred in 2014, with hackers obtaining sensitive account information, including security questions, to at least one billion accounts.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The company stated that hackers had utilized stolen internal software to forge HTTP cookies.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

On October 3, 2017, the company stated that all 3 billion of its user accounts were affected by the August 2013 theft.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite press release</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Criticism

DMCA notice to whistleblower

On November 30, 2009, Yahoo was criticized by the Electronic Frontier Foundation for sending a DMCA notice to whistleblower website "Cryptome" for publicly posting details, prices, and procedures on obtaining private information pertaining to Yahoo's subscribers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Censorship of private emails affiliated with Occupy Wall Street protests

After some concerns over censorship of private emails regarding a website affiliated with Occupy Wall Street protests were raised, Yahoo responded with an apology and explained it as an accident.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="videosift.com">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="straight.com">Template:Cite web</ref>

Partners and sponsorships

The 2015 Dublin LGBTQ Pride Festival, sponsored by Yahoo

On September 11, 2001, Yahoo announced its partnership with FIFA for the 2002 FIFA World Cup and 2006 FIFA World Cup tournaments. It was one of FIFA's 15 partners at the tournaments. The deal included co-branding the organization's websites.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Yahoo sponsored the 2012 Sundance Film Festival.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> NBC Sports Group aligned with Yahoo Sports the same year with content and program offerings on mobile and desktop platforms.<ref name="NBC">Template:Cite news</ref>

Yahoo announced television video partnerships in 2013 with Condé Nast,<ref name="Conde">Template:Cite news</ref> WWE, ABC NEWS, and CNBC.<ref name="2013partners">Template:Cite news</ref> Yahoo entered into a 10-year collaboration in 2014, as a founding partner of Levi's Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers.<ref name="Levi">Template:Cite news</ref>

The National Basketball Association partnered with Yahoo Sports to stream games, offer virtual and augmented-reality fan experiences, and in 2018 NBA League Pass.<ref name="NBA1">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="NBA2">Template:Cite news</ref> Yahoo Sportsbook launched in November 2019, a collaboration with BetMGM.<ref name="sportsbook">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Digi">Template:Cite web</ref>

BuzzFeed acquired HuffPost from Yahoo in November 2020, in a stock deal with Yahoo as a minority shareholder.<ref name="Buzz">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Buzz1">Template:Cite news</ref> The NFL partnered with Yahoo in 2020, to introduce a new "Watch Together" function on the Yahoo Sports app for interactive co-viewing through a synchronized livestream of local and primetime NFL games.<ref name="SBJ">Template:Cite news</ref> The Paley Center for Media collaborated with Verizon Media to exclusively stream programs on Yahoo platforms beginning in 2020.<ref name="Paley">Template:Cite news</ref>

Yahoo became the main sponsor for the Pramac Racing team and the first title sponsor for the 2021 ESport/MotoGP Championship season.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Yahoo, the official partner for the September 2021 New York Fashion Week event also unveiled sponsorship for the Rebecca Minkoff collection via a NFT space.<ref name="NYFW">Template:Cite web</ref> In September 2021, it was announced that Yahoo partnered with Shopify, connecting the e-commerce merchants on Yahoo Finance, AOL and elsewhere.<ref name="Shopify">Template:Cite news</ref>

See also

• List of Yahoo-owned sites and services
• List of search engines
• Yahoo litigation

External links

• Template:Official website
• Yahoo products and services
• ALTABA and Yahoo EDGAR filing history