Yahoo 1997 Annual Report Download - page 14

and Canada. Yahoo! propert ie s h a ve established leading positions in Japa n , t h e U.K./ Ireland, France, a n d
Germany since they w ere launched, and w e intend to become as popular in ove rs e a s m a rke t s a s w e a re in
the United St a t e s .
Our regional versions of Yahoo! are just that – developed loca lly in e a ch cou n t ry, cre a t e d in t h e n a t ive
language w ith loca l content and distribution part n e rships, making our regional sites an integral pa rt of the
community. Th is is w hy our geogra p h ic Yahoo! sites ha ve b e e n s o s u cce s s fu l a n d w h y Yahoo! is be com in g a
truly comprehensive global brand. It is also w hy these sites are be com in g a t t ra ct ive t o m u lt in a t ion a l a d ve rtis-
ers w ho a re a ble to use Yahoo! for global advert is in g p rog ra ms w ith m e s s a g e s t a ilored to local audiences.
In addition to increasing our w orld w id e p re s e n ce , w e t ook s e ve ra l im p ortant s t e p s in 1997 t o e xp a n d ou r
distribution, build user aw are ness of Yahoo!, a nd increase traffic through our gatew ay. Ya h oo! is n ow broa d ly
distributed across the We b w it h d ire ct lin ks t o ou r s e rvice from m ore t h a n 900,000 t h ird -p a rty Web pages.
Yahoo! is a fe atured search service on Microsoft’s In t e rn e t Explorer 4.0 b row s e r, a n d t h e e xclu s ive t h ird -p a rty
provider of global directory services on the MSN Premier subscription service a n d t h e fre e MSN.com We b s it e .
Yahoo! is a ls o a premier search and navigation provide r on Ne t s ca p e b row se rs . In a d d it ion , Yahoo! se rvice s
are now a va ilable to users directly from the desktops of Compaq Pre s a rio a n d Ga t e w a y com p u t e rs .
As w e in ve s t e d s u b s t a ntially in the business, grow ing ou r w orld w id e p re s e n ce , w e m a n a g e d ou r b u s in e s s
carefully and demonstrated the stre n g t h of ou r core b u s in e s s m od e l b y g e n e ra t in g a p os it ive ca s h flow from op e r-
ations this year. Our balance s h e e t re m a in s s t ron g w it h a va ila b le ca s h a n d in ve s t m e n t s e xce e d in g $107 m illion .
Wit h a ll t h e a ccom p lis h m e n t s of 1997, w e still fee l t h a t Yahoo! ha s on ly b e g u n t o t a p it s p ot e n t ia l. Ya h oo!
has become a leader in its ma rke t a n d is h e lp in g e s t a b lis h t h e In t e rn e t a s a d om in a n t g lob a l m e d iu m . We fu lly
intend to maintain and extend our lea d e rs h ip p os it ion b y a g g re s s ive ly g row in g ou r g lob a l a u d ie n ce a s w e ll a s
our advert is in g a n d com m e rce revenues. Like all successful me d ia com p a n ie s , w e con t in u e t o focu s on b u ild in g
our strong brand, delivering quality content and service s , a n d s e cu rin g b roa d , g lob a l d is t rib u t ion . We h a ve a
proven approach to aggregating content a n d s e rvice s . We h a ve a w ell-re cog n ize d , t ru s t e d brand and a large,
dedicated and loyal audience of u s e rs . We h a ve a b roa d and grow ing p re s e n ce around the w orld . An d w e h a ve
a team of extraordinarily tale n t e d a n d d e d ica t e d p e op le w h o a re a g g re s s ive in e xt e n d in g ou r m a rke t p os it ion .
Yahoo!’s s ig n ifica n t g row t h in p op u la rit y a n d a cce p t a n ce d u rin g t h is p a st year w ou ld n ot h a ve been possi-
ble w ithou t t h e t re m e ndous support w e con t in u e t o re ce ive from ou r u s e rs , con t e n t p rovid e rs, advert is e rs ,
merchants, and you, our shareholders. Thank you for your support of and interest in Yahoo!. We look forw a rd
to report in g on ou r con t in u e d p rog re s s in t h e months and years ahead.
Tim Koog le
Pre siden t a n d Chief Exe cutive Officer
Fe b ru a ry 27, 1998
11
10
Yahoo! Leads in Aw are n ess
On line In te nde rs (50 Million )
During the year, easy one -click a cce s s t o p rod u ct in form a t ion a n d on lin e m e rch a n t s re la t e d t o m u s ic,
books, automobiles, financial services, trave l, a n d m ore , w as thre a d e d t h rou g h m a n y of ou r m e d ia p rop e rties.
We a ls o la u n ch e d t h e Visa Shop p in g Guide b y Ya h oo! (h t t p :/ / s h op g u id e .ya h oo.com ), w hich brings consume rs
together w ith h u n d re d s of on lin e and offline merchants in the most popular product and se rvice s h op p in g ca t -
egories. Through these and a broad numbe r of ot h e r in it ia t ive s , Ya h oo! is e s t a b lis h in g it s e lf a s t h e p rim a ry
place for buyers and sellers to mee t on t h e We b .
Yahoo! a d d e d an array of rich communications tools and services for me m b e rs in 1997. Wit h t h e a cq u is it ion
of Fou r11 Corp ora t ion , w e g a in e d t h e We b ’s la rg e s t p e op le d ire ct ory a s w e ll a s h ig h -q u a lit y Web-based e-ma il
technology. Ou r Ya h oo! Ma il s e rvice (h t t p :/ / m a il.ya h oo.com ) n ow offe rs m e m b e rs a fre e e -m a il a ccou n t a cce s -
sible from any Net-connected computer anyw here in the w orld, and the advantage of h a vin g on e e -m a il
address for life, w hether they move, or change jobs or Internet se rvice p rovid e rs . As t h e g row th of We b -b a s e d
“freemail” accele ra t e s , w e se e t h is va lu e -a d d e d s e rvice a s a n im p ortant n e w a ve n u e t o b rin g m ore u s e rs t o
Yahoo! a n d t o e ach other. During the year w e also introduced Yahoo! Ch a t a n d m e s s a g e b oa rd s e rvice s . Th e se
tools, combined w ith ou r Pe op le Se a rch (http://yahoo.four11.com) and Yellow Pa g e s (h t t p :/ / yp .ya h oo.com )
capabilities, have led individuals to build a s t ron g a n d g row ing Yahoo! community of loyal members. As a
result, users are spending more and more t im e w ith Yahoo!.
During 1997 w e m a d e s ig n ifica nt investments in building Yahoo!’s b ra nd and local services throughout the
w orld . We n ow ha ve 11 re g ion or cou n t ry s p e cific s it e s ou t s id e t h e Un it e d St a t e s : in t h e United Kin g d om /
Ireland, France, Germany, De n m a rk, Norw a y, Sw e d e n , Sou t h e a s t Asia , Au s t ra lia / Ne w Zealand, Japan, Kore a ,
1997
1996
23%
8%
Q4'97
Q2'97
Q4'96
Q2'96
$3.4
$8.9
$14.1
$25.1
1996
1997
Quarte rly Re ven ue
(Millions)