SAN FRANCISCO – Internet media company Yahoo Inc. (YHOO) Tuesday posted a jump in quarterly profit fueled by online advertising revenue and the gain from the sale of an investment.
Results beat Wall Street estimates, and Yahoo shares rose in after-hours trading.
Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Yahoo saw its profit rise to $373 million, or 25 cents a share, on the sale of an investment. Excluding that gain its net profit was $187 million, or 13 cents per share, up from $75 million, or 5 cents, last year.
Revenue, excluding fees Yahoo pays to its advertising partners, rose to $7851 million a year earlier.
Analysts had forecast a revenue range of $715.6 million to $777.8 million, with a consensus of $755.7 million. Earnings excluding the investment sale were seen at 10 cents a share to 13 cents a share, with a consensus of 11 cents, according to Reuters Estimates.
After topping those estimates, Yahoo shares rose to $37.70 from their Nasdaq (search) close of $37.18.
Yahoo and other Internet names such as Google Inc. (GOOG) have been benefiting from growth in online advertising as mainstream advertising dollars follow audiences from television to the Web.
Ad forecasters expect online advertising spending to rise 25 percent in 2005.
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