Yahoo reports flat earnings amid acquisition talks

Wall Street is watching Yahoo today, but not just because of its first quarterly earnings announcement that was reported after the bell. The company is for sale and reportedly has a slew of bidders, including TechCrunch’s parent, Verizon.

Yahoo’s Board of Directors has been considering what’s called a “reverse spin,” to separate Yahoo’s core assets from its stake in Alibaba. The company reiterated that “management has worked diligently with the committee and its independent legal and financial advisors to engage with interested strategic and financial parties.” In other words, they are open to being acquired by both like-minded companies and private equity firms.

While it is not yet clear what the final outcome will be for the troubled Internet company, one of Yahoo’s final earnings reports managed to stay slightly above investor expectations.

Analysts were forecasting $1.08 billion in revenue, close to Yahoo’s $1.087 billion reported. The Street was expecting adjusted earnings of 7 cents per share, just beneath the 8 cents reported. This is still well below the 15 cents per share reported in the same quarter last year.

“I’m pleased that we delivered Q1 results in line with our expectations. Our 2016 plan is off to a solid start as we continue to focus on driving efficiency, lowering costs, and improving long-term growth,” said Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo, in a statement. “In tandem, we made substantial progress towards potential strategic alternatives for Yahoo. Our board, our management team, and I are completely aligned on this top priority for shareholders.”

(Regardless of what happens to Yahoo, Mayer herself may still fetch millions).

Like most Internet companies, Yahoo has seen growth in mobile. The company reported $260 million in mobile revenue, compared to $234 million in the same period last year. Desktop revenue fell from $873 million to $774 million.

Search revenue for the first quarter was $820 million, a 15 percent year-over-year drop. Paid clicks decreased 21 percent and display revenue fell 1 percent.

Yahoo shares were up about 1.5 percent in after-hours trading. The stock is down 18 percent in the past year and has a market cap of $34 billion.