[Business ★★★★]
(P1) Yahoo gave no update on attempts to sell its core internet business as the firm slumped to a $440m (£332m) loss in the second quarter.
(P2) Investors are likely to be disappointed by the lack of an update on the sale of its search and advertising operations.
(P3) Chief executive Marissa Mayer said only that the board had made “great progress on strategic alternatives”.
(P4) Yahoo reported a $60m rise in revenue to $1.3bn for the three months to June. The increase was mainly generated by its core internet business, although mobile revenue jumped from $252m to $378m.
(p5) Much of the speculation about Yahoo’s future is centered on Verizon, the telecoms giant that recently bought AOL, another faded internet star.
(P6) AT&T and a partnership between Quicken Loans founder Dan Gilbert and billionaire Warren Buffett were also thought to be in contention.
(P7) Yahoo could announce a buyer by the end of the month, according to some reports. It remained unclear how much Yahoo might fetch, with estimates ranging from $5bn to $8bn.
(P8) In a recent note, BGC analyst Colin Gillis wrote: “We expect any offer in the range of $5-plus billion should be accepted by the Yahoo board to bring the process to a close.”
(P9) Shares rose 0.6% to $37.95, valuing the company at $35.8bn. Much of that sum is due to Yahoo’s stake in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba.
(P10) The future of Yahoo has been in question for several years and Ms. Mayer has made little progress in returning the company to profit.
(P11) Her plan to spin-off Yahoo’s stake in Alibaba was scrapped last year in favor of selling the search and advertising business.
(P12) Ms. Mayer said despite the impending sale, she was still focused on increasing growth and cutting costs: “It is important to maximize the value of Yahoo in any scenario.”
(P13) In February Yahoo cut 15% of its global workforce.
(P14) The company faced another hurdle last week after a report alleged many of the company’s technology patents were flawed, lowering their value.
WORDS: 330
SOURCE: http://www.bbc.com/news/business-36828177
VOCABULARY: slumped, contention, fetch, spin-off, scrapped, impending, flawed
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
If you found the passage difficult to read or had problems understanding specific words or idiomatic expressions, please discuss them with your tutor. The following discussion questions should be answered in your own words and with your own arguments.
- Briefly, summarize the content of the article in your own words.
- Why do you think Yahoo is not profitable anymore?
- Who do you think would be a good buyer of Yahoo? Why?
- If you had the money to invest into one technology company, who would it be and why?
READING COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS:
- Who is the CEO of Yahoo?
- Which company bought AOL?
- The current Yahoo CEO has made no headway to make the company profitable again. (T or F)
- What percent of Yahoo’s employees lost their jobs in 2016?
- What other problem is Yahoo facing that’s decreasing its worth?
EXPRESSIONS or PHRASES:
What do the following expressions or phrases mean?
- was mainly generated by its core internet business (P4)
- another faded internet star (P5)
- bring the process to close (P8)
- has been in question for several years (P10)
- in favor of (P11)
- patents were flawed (P14)
Image source: by REUTERS