Yahoo 2009 Annual Report Download - page 11

Part I
Item 1. Business
OVERVIEW
Yahoo! Inc., together with its consolidated subsidiaries (“Yahoo!,” the “Company,” “we,” or “us”), attracts
hundreds of millions of users every month through its innovative technology and engaging content and services,
making it one of the most trafficked Internet destinations and a world class online media company. Yahoo!’s
vision is to be the center of people’s online lives by delivering personally relevant, meaningful Internet
experiences. To users, we provide online properties and services (“Yahoo! Properties” or our “Owned and
Operated sites”). To advertisers, we provide a range of marketing services designed to reach and connect with
users of our Owned and Operated sites, as well as with Internet users beyond Yahoo! Properties, through a
distribution network of third-party entities (our “Affiliates”) that have integrated our advertising offerings into
their Websites, referred to as Affiliate sites, or their other offerings. We believe that our marketing services
enable advertisers to deliver highly relevant marketing messages to their target audiences.
We generate revenues by providing marketing services to advertisers across a majority of Yahoo! Properties and
Affiliate sites. Our marketing services offerings include the display of graphical advertisements (“display
advertising”), the display of text-based links to an advertiser’s Website (“search advertising”), listing-based
services, and commerce-based transactions. Additionally, although many of the services we provide to users are
free, we charge fees for a number of premium services.
Our offerings to users on Yahoo! Properties currently fall into four categories: Integrated Consumer Experiences,
Applications (Communications and Communities), Search, and Media Products and Solutions. The majority of
our offerings are available in more than 25 languages.
Yahoo! was developed and first made available in 1994 by our founders, David Filo and Jerry Yang, while they
were graduate students at Stanford University. We were incorporated in 1995 and are a Delaware corporation.
We are headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, and have offices in more than 25 countries, regions, and
territories.
CORPORATE HIGHLIGHTS
Changes in Management and Board of Directors
During 2009, we made key changes to our executive leadership. On January 13, 2009, Carol Bartz was named
Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) and a member of the Board of Directors (the “Board”). On July 1, 2009,
Timothy R. Morse became Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”) of Yahoo!. During the fourth quarter of 2009, Carl
Icahn and Maggie Wilderotter resigned from our Board. Sue James was elected to the Board, effective
January 11, 2010. She was also named Chair of the Board’s Audit Committee.
Significant Transactions
• Entered into a Search and Advertising Services and Sales Agreement (the “Search Agreement”) and a License
Agreement with Microsoft Corporation (“Microsoft”), pursuant to which Microsoft will become Yahoo!’s
exclusive platform technology provider for algorithmic and paid search services and Yahoo! will be the
exclusive worldwide relationship sales force for both companies’ premium search advertisers.
• Acquired Maktoob.com, a leading online portal in the Middle East with users from the United Arab Emirates,
Jordan, Kuwait, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Dubai. This acquisition will allow Yahoo! to build a stronger
presence in the growing Middle East market.
We expect to continue to acquire or make investments in companies, products, services, and technologies in the
future. See Note 3—“Acquisitions” of the Notes to the consolidated financial statements, which appears in Part
II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information related to our acquisitions.
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