Appendix 1: History, Development, and Growth (5 pages)
Appendix 7: Company’s Structure and Control Systems (2 pages)
Appendix 8: Recommendations (2 pages)
Conclusion (1 page)
Total 10+ pages
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Below are some pieces of information:
Background
Yahoo! was founded in 1994 by Jerry Yang and David Filo, graduate students at Stanford University in California. At first, it was named “Jerry’s Guide to the WWW”, but in April 1994 they changed the name to Yahoo!. Headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, Yahoo! is offering users a variety of services including free email, news, maps, and a powerful search engine. In 2006, Yahoo! was the world’s most-visited interactive Web portal or entryway into the World Wide Web (WWW). It averaged over 144 million page views per day, earned $2 billion on revenues of $6.4 billion in 2006. In 2012, Marissa Mayer was appointed CEO, and she was the last CEO before the acquisition. In 2017, Yahoo! was officially acquired by Verizon Communications. Yahoo! ceases to exist as an independent corporate entity. CEO Mayer resigns from the company from her Tumblr account.
Timeline
Since 1994, Yahoo! has experienced many major events. In its initial public offering on April 12, 1996. This success led to Yahoo!’s initial public stock offering that raised $338 million by selling 2.6 million shares at $13 each, to allow it to fund future growth. Yahoo! stock closed the first day at a price of $33 per share. Like many web search engine companies, Yahoo! gradually developed into a portal. After the Yahoo! began a series of acquisitions to expand its business. For example, Yahoo! acquired Rocketmail and ClassicGames.com, among others, which eventually became Yahoo! Mail, and Yahoo! Games. Yahoo! had an opportunity to acquire Google. In 2002, Yahoo!’s CEO at the time, Terry Semel, engaged in negotiations to acquire Google. But in the end, it was a missed opportunity. Besides, in 2005 Yahoo! paid $1 billion in cash for a 40% stake in Alibaba.com. In 2008, Microsoft paid $44.6 billion for Yahoo!, but Jerry Yang turned down Microsoft. Verizon Communications completed its $4.48 billion acquisition of Yahoo’s core internet business in 2017, and Marissa stepped down.
Recommendation
First, Yahoo! should focus on its core products (Search Engines). Optimize the pages and content of Search. Yahoo’s search page is too complex, and users need more time to find out what they need. Second, establish a stable executive management team and formulate long-term strategic objectives. Third, enhance their development and innovation capabilities and reduce big-money acquisitions. Yahoo! can develop some unique or special services or products. In a rapidly changing online world, the ability to innovate and offer new and unique products, services, and applications to attract visitors is essential. Besides, Yahoo! should strengthen the confidentiality of data. Gmail is more secure than Yahoo! Mail. So, Yahoo! could take a page from Gmail and force users to use more secure, stronger password security and two-step authentication to keep their data more secure.
Summary
In summary, Yahoo! was one of the pioneers of the Internet era in the early 1990s and offered a wide range of services. Since its inception, Yahoo! has made a number of big acquisitions. At the same time, it has also established a good cooperative relationship with other enterprises. In 2016, Yahoo! suffered the largest data breach in recorded history. So, it needs to strengthen the confidentiality of user data. If Yahoo! wants to increase its competitive edge, it should focus on developing its own technology. Yahoo! business models should be changed to enhance the specificity of services or products to attract new customers and retain old customers.
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