Yahoo 1997 Annual Report Download - page 13

1997 w as a n ot h e r la ndmark year for Yahoo! as w e con t in u e d to build on and leverage off of the solid
foundation w e p u t in p la ce during 1996. We h a ve cre a t e d a u n iq u e a n d p ow e rfu l g a t e w a y t o t h e In t e rn e t ,
a trusted meeting place w here users, content providers, a d ve rtisers a n d m e rch a n t s com e t og e t h e r. We
ended the year as w e began it, the lea d e r in a u d ie n ce s ize , t ra ffic a n d a d ve rtising re ve n u e a m on g In t e rn e t
navigational services. Internet grow th has exceede d e xp e ct a t ion s , a n d s o h a s Ya h oo!.
As new u s e rs con t in u e d t o g ra vitate to Yahoo!, our user traffic has grow n, a s have the number of con-
tent providers, advertisers and merchants w ho rely on Yahoo!. In fact, all measures of use rose sha rp ly
in 1997. Yahoo!’s t ra ffic g re w m ore t h a n t h re e fold from De ce mber 1996 t o a n a ve ra g e of 65 million page
view s p e r d a y in De cember 1997, m a in t a in in g ou r p os it ion a s t h e #1 navigational service on the We b . Th e
number of unique, adult Yahoo! users in the U.S. surpassed 26 million per month in 1997. We t rip le d ou r
advert is e r b a se to 1,700 d u rin g t h e fou rth q u a rter of 1997 from 550 d u rin g t h e fou rth q u a rter of 1996. Th is
rate of grow th in a u d ie nce and advertiser base is the hallmark of a s u cce s s fu l m e d ia com p a n y; it fu e le d
the 242% ris e in ou r re ve n u e s in 1997 t o $67.4 m illion a n d d rove ou r core e a rn in g s g row t h . In fa ct , e xclu d -
ing non-recurring charges, 1997 p ro form a n e t in com e w as $2,208,000, or $0.04 p e r s h a re .
As a result of this tremendous grow th, Yahoo! con t in u e s t o b e ranked as the #1 We b s it e a m on g w ork
users, the #1 navigational service a m on g b ot h w ork and home users a n d t h e le a d in g In t e rn e t n a vig a t ion a l
service in number of users, traffic, reach a n d b ra n d a w are n e s s – a ll a re fle ct ion of ou r re le n t le s s focu s on
content and services, brand equity, a n d d is t rib u t ion .
While w e p rou d ly m a in t a ined our leadership position in audience size , t ra ffic, a n d a d ve rtising re ve n u e
among Internet navigational service s , it is t h e e xp los ive g row th of our conte n t a n d s e rvice s w hich ha s
firmly established Yahoo! as a dynamic, global media compa n y. Provid in g b ot h t h e b e s t s e rvice s for con -
sumers and a global distribution platform for content providers, a d ve rtisers, a n d m e rch a n t s , con t in u e t o
be our highest priorities.
When w e e s t a blished Yahoo!, w e s e t a b ou t t o cre a te the only place in the w orld that anyone w ould
have to go to find, and get connected to, anything or a n yb od y. To this end, w e h a ve been relentless in
extending our navigational guide platform a n d fu rther expa n d in g in t o a ll a re a s of con t e n t , m e rch a n t s e rv-
ices, communication, and community. We have done this w ith a n increasingly global set of media prope r-
ties, w hich cove rs a la rge port ion of t h e w orld ’s on lin e p op u la t ion . Today Yahoo!’s global, comprehensive
branded netw ork of m e dia propert ie s s a tisfies a truly massive audience of use rs .
During 1997, Ya h oo! e xt e n d e d it s con t e n t , com m e rce , com m u n ica t ion , a nd community offerings on a w ide
number of fronts. Yahoo! Ne w s (h t t p :/ / d a ilyn e w s .ya h oo.com ) a n d Ya h oo! Fin a n ce (h t t p :/ / q u ot e .ya h oo.com )
w ere ra n ke d the #1 sites for users seeking up-to-the-minute ge n e ra l n e w s a n d fin a n cia l in form a t ion . All of
our other sites are also popular w ith users seeking everything from music a n d s p orts new s to children’s
content to w eather report s . Ya h oo! a ls o p rovid e s it s re g is t e re d members w ith t h e b e st personalized We b
experience. Whether it’s Yahoo! Finance, Yahoo! Ch a t (h t t p :/ / ch a t .ya h oo.com ), Ya h oo! Cla s s ifie d s
(http://classifieds.yahoo.com) or My Yahoo! (http://my.ya h oo.com ), w e e n a b le u s e rs t o p e rs on a lize t h e
service to their specific interests. Whate ve r con t e n t or s e rvice you a re lookin g for, Ya h oo! h e lp s you fin d it .
to our
sha re h o ld e rs
9
We ’re p rovid ing a p la ce
w h ere t h e w orld m e ets .
Tim Koogle
Pre siden t a n d CEO