Yahoo!: A History of Its Stock Price and Company Development
Yahoo! is an iconic internet company that was founded in 1994 by Jerry Yang and David Filo. The company started as a simple web directory, but it quickly became one of the most popular websites in the world. Over the years, Yahoo! has expanded its offerings to include email, search engines, and even an online news portal. In this article, we will take a closer look at the history of Yahoo!’s stock price and how it has reflected the company’s economic situation.
Early Years and Initial Public Offering (IPO)
Yahoo! was founded in January 1994 by Jerry Yang and David Filo, who were both students at Stanford University at the time. The company was originally called “Jerry and David’s Guide to the World Wide Web” but was later renamed Yahoo! in April 1994. The name “Yahoo!” was inspired by the acronym for “Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle.”
In April 1996, Yahoo! filed for its initial public offering (IPO) and went public on the NASDAQ stock exchange. The IPO price was set at $13 per share, and the company raised $10 million from the sale of 840,000 shares. After the IPO, the stock price of Yahoo! quickly rose, reaching a high of $33 by the end of the day. The stock price continued to rise in the following months, reaching an all-time high of $120 in early 1997.
The Internet Bubble and its Impact on Yahoo!’s Stock Price
The late 1990s were a time of rapid growth for the internet industry, and Yahoo! was one of the companies that benefited the most from this growth. The company’s stock price soared during this period, reaching a peak of over $150 in early 2000. However, the internet bubble burst in 2000, and the stock price of Yahoo! plummeted, falling to just $8 by the end of the year.
The company was hit hard by the burst of the internet bubble, and it had to lay off a significant number of employees and refocus its business strategy. In 2001, Yahoo! appointed Terry Semel as its new CEO, and he led the company through a period of recovery and restructuring.
Yahoo!’s Acquisition and the Microsoft Offer
In 2005, Yahoo! acquired the online search engine company Overture, which was a subsidiary of GoTo.com. The acquisition helped Yahoo! improve its search engine capabilities and compete more effectively with Google. In 2007, Microsoft made an unsolicited offer to acquire Yahoo! for $44.6 billion. However, Yahoo!’s board of directors rejected the offer, and the two companies failed to reach a deal.
The rejection of the Microsoft offer led to a period of uncertainty for Yahoo!, and the company’s stock price continued to decline. In 2009, Yahoo! appointed Carol Bartz as its new CEO, and she led the company through a period of significant restructuring and cost-cutting measures.
In 2012, Yahoo! agreed to a search partnership with Microsoft, and the two companies signed a 10-year deal. The partnership helped Yahoo!’s search engine to improve its performance and compete more effectively with Google.
The Verizon Acquisition
In 2016, Yahoo! agreed to be acquired by Verizon Communications for $4.5 billion. The acquisition was completed in June 2017, and Yahoo!’s core internet business was merged with AOL to form a new company called Oath Inc. The remaining assets of Yahoo!, including Yahoo! Japan and a stake in Alibaba Group, were spun off into a new company called Yahoo! Inc.
The stock price of Yahoo! had been on a rollercoaster ride since its IPO in 1996. The company had seen its stock price soar to highs of over $150 during the internet bubble but had also seen it plummet to just $8 after the bubble burst. The acquisition by Verizon marked the end of an era for Yahoo!, and it remains to be seen what the future holds for the iconic internet company.
In conclusion, Yahoo!’s stock price has been a reflection of the company’s economic situation throughout its history. The company’s early years were marked by rapid growth and soaring stock prices, but the burst of the internet bubble and subsequent restructuring and acquisitions had a significant impact on the company’s stock price. The acquisition by Verizon marked the end of an era for Yahoo.
