As Google Slips, Mayer Reignites Growth at Yahoo!

For as bad a reputation as Yahoo! (NAS: YHOO) has among investors, the Internet giant had crushed earnings expectations in three of the past four quarters heading into tonight's Q3 report. The streak is still alive.

In her first quarter as CEO, Marissa Mayer's Yahoo! grew revenue 2% year over year to $1.089 billion after accounting for traffic acquisition costs. Earnings soared 66% to $0.35 a share after excluding restructuring and other costs. Wall Street was looking for $1.08 billion and $0.26, respectively, according to data compiled by Yahoo! Finance .

"We're taking important steps to position Yahoo! for long-term success, and we're confident that our focus on quality and improving the user experience will drive increased value for our advertisers, partners and shareholders," Mayer, a technologist with a proven track record, said in a press release.

Interestingly, Yahoo!'s beat comes on the heels of an earnings embarrassment at Google (NAS: GOOG) -- Mayer's former employer -- and a fiscal Q1 miss at Microsoft (NAS: MSFT) , which is suffering from a sharp slowdown in PC sales.

The article As Google Slips, Mayer Reignites Growth at Yahoo! originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Tim Beyers is a member of the Motley Fool Rule Breakersstock-picking team and the Motley Fool Supernova Odyssey I mission. He owned shares of Google at the time of publication. Check out Tim's Web home, portfolio holdings, and Foolish writings, or connect with him on Google+ or Twitter, where he goes by @milehighfool. You can also get his insights delivered directly to your RSS reader.The Motley Fool owns shares of Microsoft and Google. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Google and creating a synthetic covered call position in Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days.

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