Yahoo's Shareholder Meeting (2012)

[Editor's note: this post was originally published on July 12, 2012.]

Yahoo’s shareholder meeting was bland.  No slides, no video, no new trinkets—just the basic CEO pep talk plus business jargon.  Apparently, Yahoo’s new catchphrase is “technology-powered media company,” which is short for, “Please stop asking us if we’re a tech company or a media company.”  At this point, the only job with more turnover than Yahoo’s CEO might be your local fast food joint, but interim CEO Ross Levinsohn seems nice enough, so that’s a plus.  Of course, he spewed the same pablum as every other CEO from Yahoo, but what do you expect?  It must be difficult getting respect from the troops when the company won’t remove the "interim" label before the annual meeting.  Still, it’s not about the CEO or whether Yahoo wants to become a media or tech company—it’s about execution.  As another person wrote, “[I]t’s increasingly hard to see what Yahoo uniquely offers to its audience.”  Combine a failure to execute with a failure to produce unique content or services, and you have a recipe for extinction. 

Levinsohn’s short speech highlighted Yahoo’s many partners, including NBC, ABC, and Spotify.  I may have misheard him, but Levinsohn said that more than half of the videos viewed online came from Yahoo, which prompted a surprised look from one employee.  Yahoo believes its election and Olympics coverage will attract traffic.  Levinsohn also mentioned the consumer several times, stating, “Consumers want interesting and informative online experiences,” and “It [all] has to start with the consumer experience.”  In other words, he said nothing new or unique.  Of course a public company that seeks consumers and viewers has to satisfy them.  Which is why Yahoo’s conduct over the last five years has been so comically tragic: Yahoo bungled its transition to a new email format (also botching its calendar feature); entered and promptly left the social media space via Yahoo Pulse; couldn’t provide a consistent selection of online media content, ceding that audience to Hulu and YouTube; couldn’t properly manage copyright infringement claims to prevent viewers from clicking on unplayable videos; and made the term “quality assurance” MIA.  In addition, Yahoo’s videos lack captions, whereas both YouTube and Hulu have some form of online captioning.  It could be worse—just two years ago, Yahoo’s homepage seemed to resemble the National Enquirer or TMZ, prompting some viewers to wonder whether Yahoo’s latest strategy relied on Kim Kardashian, Octomom, Justin Bieber, and hordes of lobotomized or low-IQ viewers.  Thankfully, Yahoo has reversed its descent into becoming the world’s largest online tabloid.  However, it now seems to be aiming for the “World’s Largest Linkfest of Content Already Seen by Everyone under 40 on YouTube and Facebook,” but as I said, things could be worse.   

Today, the CEO focused on Yahoo’s various partnerships with other media companies as well as its access to “700 million viewers,” but Yahoo doesn’t seem to understand that a) it doesn’t matter how many viewers you have if none of them are particularly loyal; and b) relying on content and partnerships from other companies with their own websites isn't a viable long-term strategy.  As I told the CEO during the meeting, “Think about it.”  If Company A--which has a vested interest in promoting its own websites and content--decides to partner with Company B, which is a mere portal for Company A’s content, what will happen?  Company A won’t license its best content to Company B and will use its leverage as a content provider to take as many users from Company B as possible and make them loyal to their own website(s).  It’s as if CNBC decided to partner with Bloomberg by linking to Bloomberg articles, thinking, “Well, if I got Bloomberg, Fox Business and a bunch of other business content, then people are sure to come here instead of going to those websites instead.” But of course, CNBC focuses on creating its own unique content and attracting its own viewers.  To the extent CNBC thinks Bloomberg, Fox Business, or the Motley Fool has an interesting idea, they do a story themselves instead of just linking or deferring to their competitors’ websites or channels.  In essence, Yahoo’s business strategy seems to be “As many eyeballs as possible, regardless of user time spent on the page or the quality of content displayed” (see Kardashian/Octomom reference above).  It’s a sad state to be in for a company that was once a top Silicon Valley innovator  (Speaking of which, am I the only one who remembers Yahoo’s funny commercials for its personal ad service?)  

Yahoo’s latest mis-step?  Hackers from “d33ds” disclosed about 400,000 user passwords, including many from Yahoo.  I downloaded the file to see if my emails were hacked, too.  They weren’t.  It looks like almost all the passwords taken are from deactivated accounts, so Yahoo got lucky this time.  And it wasn’t just Yahoo emails on the list—I saw hotmail and even gmail accounts apparently compromised. Besides, few of the exposed passwords had any capitalized letters, which violates Online User Security 101.  The hackers are definitely cheeky, though—they ended their email/password list with the following quote: “Growth begins when we begin to accept our own weakness.” -- Jean Vanier 

The Q&A session was short.  One shareholder asked about Yahoo’s role: was it a TV station, TV studio, or ad agency?  The CEO said Yahoo wanted to create a good overall consumer experience.  A CalPERS representative said the state’s pension fund supported the Board but not the way Yahoo was awarding compensation to its executives.  Another shareholder rightfully criticized former Yahoo CEO Terry Semel’s compensation of $ 600 million, which seems grossly high given Yahoo’s current stock price.  

Some final notes: Julia Boorstin from CNBC was there.  I didn’t like her, but her cameraman was nice.  Cory Johnson from Bloomberg was also there and looked like his usual professional self (did you know he founded the hip hop basketball magazine SLAM?).  I prefer Bloomberg, which has a more serious outlook than CNBC.  Maybe the “eyeballs at any cost” strategy works on TV, which is more visual and less interactive.  It might explain the mismanagement of Yahoo all these years by big-media executives. Boorstin asked me about the interim CEO issue (yawn) and the Facebook/Yahoo deal.  According to TechCrunch, the deal occurred “without money changing hands,” so I responded to her question with another question she should have been asking: “How much money is involved?”  She didn't seem to catch my point.  So much for television media as an enlightening Fourth Estate.  

Disclosure: I own shares of Yahoo, but my positions may change at any time.  My hunch is that a private equity fund will buy Yahoo at some point or the company will increase shareholder value by splitting up or selling off its various parts.  

Yahoo Annual Shareholder Meeting (2010)

I attended Yahoo's Annual Shareholder meeting on June 24, 2010 at the Doubletree Hotel in San Jose, California. About 35 non-employee shareholders and 50 Yahoo employees attended. What a change! No media circus, no hoopla about Icahn's or Microsoft's intentions, and no ill-advised grandstanding by Bostock--just a normal, professional annual meeting. In short, Carol Bartz is simply amazing. She has taken Yahoo from seemingly endless PR disasters to instant credibility. Even Bostock--whose dithering I despise--seems tolerable next to Bartz. In fact, "to dither"--which means, "to be nervously irresolute in acting or doing"--seemed to be Yahoo's motif before Bartz.

Bostock (pronounced, "Bah-stock") opened the meeting by introducing Yahoo's Board of Directors and Executive team. (I was happy to see Brad Smith, Intuit's CEO and Yahoo Board member, at the meeting. Intuit's consistent ability to deliver strong products makes it an excellent partner to have.) Bostock said that Bartz had acted "decisively" and the Yahoo team had "made enormous progress." He turned the podium over to Yahoo's general counsel, who handled the formal portion of the meeting.

Yahoo's general counsel did a fantastic job. After hearing Responsible Wealth's representative Lincoln Pain introduce a shareholder proposal ("Say on Pay"), Yahoo opened the floor for comments on the proposal, limiting statements to two minutes. Yahoo's approach to shareholder proposal comments creates a good balance between too much information and too little information. Too many companies won't allow shareholders to comment on proposals or go the other direction and allow shareholders unlimited time.

One shareholder did have a comment on the "Say on Pay" proposal. He said similar proposals had been used as a club/baton to harangue the Board and CEOs. He criticized RiskMetrics, Responsible Wealth (the organization sponsoring the proposal), and ended by saying, "If you own a house in the Bay Area, you're [considered] rich," and "Responsible Wealth is ACORN for rich people." This proposal was defeated.

After the general counsel concluded the business portion of the meeting, the meeting was adjourned, and Carol Bartz shooed the general counsel off the stage and began her presentation.

Bartz detailed Yahoo's partnership with Microsoft. She said that by working together, Yahoo and Microsoft could attract 30% of the marketplace for search (with Google attracting the other 65 to 70%). Bartz indicated that Yahoo was focusing on several main areas: local, social, video, and mobile. She praised Yahoo's longevity, reminding us that while most tech companies founded fifteen years ago are now gone, Yahoo is still here. After a simple, crisp presentation, she opened the floor for Q&A.

Shareholder Anthony Mezzapelle mentioned that Yahoo's operating profit margin in the past three to five years seemed too low and wondered why Yahoo wasn't using its ample cash to improve its margins. Ms. Bartz answered that Yahoo had about $4 billion in cash, and agreed that Yahoo's 6% operating margin was "shockingly low." She said that Yahoo has spent money trying to improve margins, but revenue did not follow. Bartz seemed confident that Yahoo's margins would improve in the future. Ads are supposed to be fun, Bartz said, and Yahoo has better ads than competitors; moreover, Yahoo's partnership with Microsoft was generating more eyeballs and traffic for Yahoo's advertisers. Thus, while the advertising marketplace was fragmented, that fragmentation represents opportunity for Yahoo, according to Bartz.

Victor Anthony Cruz, representing Amnesty International, reminded Yahoo about Shi Tao, who is serving a ten-year sentence in China for voicing dissent in cyberspace. (See here for more on Shi Tao.) Cruz indicated that Yahoo's discomfort over the China issue pales in comparison to the prisoners' feelings, and Yahoo should be more active in calling for their release. Bartz responded by saying that Yahoo had "actively" called for Shi Tao's release and worked with the State Department to try to help Shi Tao. She reminded Cruz that Yahoo "can't do a jailbreak." She also said that Yahoo has not directly operated in China for years and would not be happy until Shi Tao was released.

Another shareholder discussed Yahoo's poorly timed share buybacks. He noted that Yahoo's average share buyback price was $26.35/share, and Yahoo bought much of its shares in 2007. Bartz said that buybacks should be analyzed over a period of 20 years. "Hindsight is perfect," she said, but Yahoo made the best decision at the time based on the information it had. Also, Yahoo was reviewing its buyback formula.

Other shareholders asked about Yahoo's foreign stakes. One shareholder asked if Yahoo would be returning some of Alibaba.com's value to shareholders. (Yahoo owns a stake in Alibaba.com and has a joint venture with Yahoo Japan.) Bartz responded that Yahoo had no plans to sell its Japan stake and would figure out how to monetize it over time. Bartz also told another shareholder that Yahoo had no operational control over Alibaba.com but was aware of the issues relating to Chinese monitoring relating to the website.

I made several comments, and opened by praising Ms. Bartz tenure at Yahoo. I said I was generally against high executive compensation, but in this case, she deserved every penny she got. She laughed, and responded that her compensation wasn't $47 million--the number most people throw out when discussing her package--and the share price would have to "triple" before she actually received that much money.

I then offered some suggestions. I told Yahoo that its online calendaring system had numerous glitches. Several months ago, Yahoo changed its calendaring system, creating several problems. For example, times set to repeat had suddenly changed, and some days at the bottom of the calendar could not be opened. I suggested whoever was in charge of the calendaring "needed a talking to," and the inability to handle a calendaring system affected Yahoo's credibility.

I then expressed an ongoing concern about Yahoo's choice of homepage content. I am sick of hearing about Hollywood "stars" and their personal lives. It bothers me that I actually know Kim Kardashian has a new boyfriend (thanks, Yahoo). It bothered me when Yahoo kept displaying stories about OctoMom, Paris Hilton, etc. (at this point, Bartz chimed in, mentioning Britney Spears and Kate and 8). I said I despised such stories so much that I had changed my homepage to something non-Yahoo. This comment set up an awkward exchange, where Bartz asked me what homepage I was using now. After some hesitation (hey, she asked), I answered, "Google"--causing several disgusted reactions in the room.

I also mentioned concerns with Yahoo's automatic updating and user sharing process. Right now, unless you opt out, whenever you make a comment on a Yahoo news story, your comment is displayed to your friends/contacts. In fact, I had no idea that some of my posts were being shared with my friends/contacts until someone mentioned a comment I'd made on a story weeks ago. Also, I had no idea that my actions on Yahoo would be shared without my consent. I immediately deleted my Contacts list and did the best I could to prevent my information from being shared. Nevertheless, Yahoo lost credibility by failing to have an opt-in social media system rather than an opt-out social media system.

Moreover, it was surprising to see Yahoo so behind the curve when it comes to privacy. When I post something on Facebook, I know I am sharing my comment with my Facebook friends. In contrast, just because I use Yahoo doesn't mean I expect my comments and user activity to be shared with my entire Contacts list, which could include people who've emailed me only a few times or many years ago. Although I criticize Yahoo for failing to foresee these privacy problems, I am still a Yahoo user. Overall, Yahoo gives me much more than it takes.

Finally, I jokingly asked Bartz when she was planning on going into politics (Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina seem to be setting a trend for Silicon Valley female CEOs). Bartz immediately responded, "Never."

Congrats to Bartz for bringing some much-needed gusto to Yahoo.

Disclosure: I own an insignificant number of Yahoo (YHOO) shares.

Yahoo: Decker Out, Bartz In

As most of you already know, Carol Bartz is Yahoo's new CEO. Unfortunately, Susan Decker is no longer with Yahoo. I don't know anything about Carol Bartz, but I am happy to see at least one female CEO at a major Silicon Valley company.

Yahoo (YHOO) Update

Here is the latest on Yahoo (YHOO):

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Yahoo-to-replace-Yang-as-CEO-apf-13601499.html

Mr. Yang is going to step down. Bostock has the easiest decision ever--Susan Decker is right there. She takes over Mr. Yang's spot, and using her position on Berkshire's board, talks to Warren Buffett about a partial sale to Microsoft. Mr. Buffett, of course, knows Bill Gates very well. Mr. Bostock can't possibly screw this up...or can he?

Yahoo and Microsoft Saga Continues

Jerry Yang reached out to Microsoft and was met with partial rejection. Yahoo had increased around 7% this week on rumors of a Microsoft buyout. Today, Steve Ballmer shut down any hope of a buyout, causing Yahoo shares to decline by around 14%.

Continuing the romantic analogy I've used to describe this situation (Yahoo Shareholder Meeting (2008)), Ballmer basically said he is willing to sleep with Yahoo but not marry it--in other words, he will partner with Yahoo but not buy it. Yahoo must feel terrible knowing that Wall Street values its stock more by Microsoft's intent than on its individual growth prospects. Can't a woman just be independent and attractive? The market is treating Yahoo like an old woman with no other prospects, no job, and no education, who needs to find a man quick or be cast into a dungeon. It would be funny if it wasn't so wrong.

Yahoo can do fine on its own. Its home page continues to rank in the top two for visitors. It is doing very well in Japan. Also, the recession will help Yahoo keep more of its American talent. Yahoo's salesforce might be its biggest problem--it needs to focus on getting major ad accounts to boost its revenue, and it has lost some key sales personnel. At least now, Jerry Yang can't be completely blamed for Yahoo's stock price--he reached out to Microsoft and was rejected. It's time for Susan Decker to talk to Time Warner and buy its AOL property. After all, the best revenge in romance is finding another desirable partner.

AllThingsD on Yahoo and Yang

AllThingsD has a good post on Yahoo:

http://kara.allthingsd.com/20081021/yahoo-earnings-what-to-expect-when-youre-not-expecting-much/

I am surprised no one is mentioning Bostock anymore. He is more unpopular than Mr. Yang. I like Mr. Yang--don't forget, without him, there's no Yahoo at all.

Update:

Yahoo stock up around 5% in after-hours trading on 10/21/08. Here's why--Yahoo met expectations and earned 9 cents a share, excluding special items.

From
http://sanjose.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2008/10/20/daily40.html:

Marketing services revenue was $1.56 billion, 1 percent increase from the same period of 2007.

Excluding items, the company's income would have been $123 million, or 9 cents a share, compared to non-GAAP income of $153 million or 11 cents a share for the same period of 2007.

Analysts, on average, expected earnings of 9 cents a share on $1.37 billion in revenue.

Some more encouraging words from the earnings call itself. Susan Decker speaking:

We have no debt. We ended the third quarter with $3.3 billion of cash and marketable debt securities. As of the end of the quarter the value of our direct and indirect interests in the publicly traded securities of Yahoo Japan, alibaba.com and Gmarket were valued at approximately $7.9 billion in the public markets or over $5.50 a share.

Yahoo! Shareholder Meeting, August 1, 2008 (YHOO)

(Susan Decker and me)

Yahoo held its 2008 shareholder meeting at the posh Fairmont Hotel in downtown San Jose. Security at the meeting was tight--proxy statements were checked prior to providing a wristband required for entry.

Yahoo did not skimp this year on the food--we had coffee, juices, and pastries galore (the croissants were especially tasty). In fact, the hotel put out so much food, most of it was untouched.

Outside of the meeting hall were several kiosks highlighting Yahoo's different areas, such as search, mobile, green (environment) and advertising. The "green" area hasn't received much attention, but it's interesting. Go to http://green.yahoo.com for more information--the Yahoo employee referred to the "gift guide" tab as one convenient way to shop for eco-friendly gifts.

The formal part of the meeting was more interesting than usual, because some ballots had to be re-done after the Yahoo-Icahn agreement invalidated Icahn's slate and gold card proxies. The presenter indicated votes for Icahn "will not be cast."

Several pension funds talked about their proposals. The first proposal--pay for superior performance--fell flat because the delivery was stunted and overly prepared.

The second presenter did better--he was from a NY Pension fund and chastised Yahoo for its political censorship. He said "Yahoo actively participated in these human rights abuses," and should "not engage in proactive censorship." His proposal also appeared to demand more public transparency when Yahoo complies with foreign subpoenas for information.

The third presenter, from Harrington Investments, dealt with human rights also. The presenter said that Yahoo "lacked true morality, which is the morality of obligation," and failed in its fiduciary duties.

Voting results were released after the meeting, and Yahoo prevailed on the shareholder proposals it asked shareholders to reject. Shareholders also elected all of Yahoo board members by overwhelmingly wide margins, except for Roy Bostock and Arthur Kern, both of whom had about 20% of shares withheld in opposition. Mr. Bostock earlier had 34% of the vote withheld in protest, and many shareholders continue to revile him for his involvement in outsized compensation despite Yahoo's lagging share price.

As a result of placating Carl Icahn, Yahoo was able to dissolve shareholder frustration; make its annual meeting into just another regular meeting (much to the chagrin of most media, who appeared from numerous outlets); and focus on remaining independent. My perception was Mr. Bostock is now responsible for the negotiating with Microsoft, while Sue Decker and Jerry Yang are focusing on how to maximize ad and search revenue.

Mr. Roy Bostock, Chairman of Yahoo's Board, gave a presentation after the formal meeting had concluded. I'm sure he intended his speech to be a fiery "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" type, but it fell flat. The more Yahoo talks about Microsoft, the more it sounds like a jilted but still optimistic ex-girlfriend. Bostock said Yahoo was a "victim of misunderstanding." He indicated they had entered into an agreement with Google as part of a strategic plan, but never elaborated on the details of the deal. Bostock indicated, "At no point did this board or management in any way ever resist Microsoft's proposal," making Yahoo sound more and more like a hopeful ex-girlfriend.

The rest of Bostock's speech seemed to focus on blunting a minority shareholder lawsuit by blaming Microsoft for the failed deal. Bostock said Yahoo "proactively" evaluated Microsoft's original and later hybrid proposal and then seemed to get unnecessarily aggressive when he said, "We called the shots." Not exactly the kind of comments that would make Microsoft too happy about a partnership or a deal.

Bostock said the 31 dollar bid was the only express bid, and the express offer "substantially undervalued Yahoo." Bostock then made the typical comments about maximizing shareholder value and then characterized the 33 dollars a share offer as an implicit Microsoft offer rather than a Yahoo counteroffer. Yahoo had a "long-term strategic vision," he said, and it was a "burden to deal with all these offers." It was a stunning statement by a company that basically cost its shareholders a 50%+ premium.

Jerry Yang made the next presentation. His public speaking skills have dramatically improved. He was prepared and polished. He talked about internet opportunity, referring to the projected growth in "incremental internet users" (335 million). 76% of these users would come from Asia, Pacific and emerging markets. Mr. Yang said Yahoo was investing in mobile and emerging markets and had an enviable "collection of assets."

Yahoo receives 3.6 billion visits per month. 3.6 billion visits a month is incredible. An advertiser can hardly ignore Yahoo if it wants broad and international placement of its product or content. Mr. Yang ended by talking about opening up the advertising platform, i.e. making it easier for advertisers to buy ads.

Susan Decker spoke next. She has a firm grasp of Yahoo's diverse businesses. She indicated Yahoo's top 200 advertisers bought 90% of display ads (e.g., the very large ads, especially for movies, on Yahoo's home page). Yahoo was also improving its "sponsored search" advertising process, where advertisers could big for a term like "plasma tv" in an auction.

Ms. Decker then talked about "Buzz," and other social networking tools. She referred specifically to search innovation, "Search Monkey," and other tools to make search engines more user-friendly and integrated. It appears Yahoo is trying to make its platform similar to Facebook so it can continue to be a one-stop shop for users. Sue Decker ended by reading some positive reviews of Yahoo published by various media outlets. Her skill and presence are such that she could pull this off without appearing arrogant.

The CFO was the final speaker. His slides showed "operating cash flow" has been stagnant since 2006, but he indicated the reasons were acquisitions and other growth-driven items. Yahoo has 3.2 billion dollars in cash. Let me repeat that--3.2 billion dollars in cash.

Yahoo also owns stakes in alibaba.com (China), Yahoo Japan, Gmarket (Korea), and TaoBao.com (China). Yahoo estimates these stakes being worth $7.01 per share, not including Alipay.com and TaoBao.com. One source of disconnect: Yahoo kept talking about emerging markets, but its partners are all in developed economies like Japan and Korea, except for possibly China. I don't see any partnerships in India, Eastern Europe, or Turkey, for example.

Paidcontent.org did a good job summarizing the meeting itself and the Q&A session:

http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-live-yahoo-annual-meeting-the-meeting-starts/

http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-yahoo-annual-meeting-qa-compensation-concerns-china/

The comments under "Fantasy Sports" and "A New Metaphor" referred to my comments at the meeting. I basically said Yahoo--more specifically Roy Bostock--needed to stop talking about the failed Microsoft deal. We get it--it failed. Using more polite language ("bad breakup"), I suggested Bostock stop acting like a spurned ex-girlfriend, and perhaps Microsoft might come back and be more reasonable. No one wants to deal with a bitter ex who keeps ripping you in the press. It's just common sense. I also recommended Bostock stop using the term, "long term strategic plan"--it sounds hollow right now, and if he wants to use it, he should use it when Yahoo's stock price goes above $30 per share.

I praised Jerry Yang for being the founder of the company, reminding everyone that without him, Yahoo would not exist. I said the criticism relating to the Chinese blogger controversy was unfair, because Mr. Yang never intended for the end result to occur. At worst, I said, you could argue he and the company were naive, but not malicious (even though it was Semel who released the information, Yang apologized publicly for it, associating himself with the incident). I continued, saying perhaps a temporary sabbatical would be best for the company, because Mr. Yang is now associated so deeply with the blogger controversy, it's hard to focus on Yahoo's actual business. Unfair or not, he has become a lightning rod for criticism (two of the shareholder proposals dealt with human rights violations), and with Decker already at the helm, perhaps she could take over temporarily as CEO and President. I also praised Yahoo's fantasy sports platform/franchise.

Jerry Yang seemed pleased with my comments, chuckling at the ex-girlfriend analogy, and pointed out he was not the CEO at the time of the blogger incident. He said he had "condemned the Chinese government" for its actions, something I had not read or heard before. Yang's comment against the Chinese government surprisingly did not lead to major publicity.

Decker said the fantasy sports franchise fit with Yahoo's desire to move more into social networking and demonstrated Yahoo's early adoption of social networking.

Bostock made a remark about how he wouldn't compare the Microsoft situation to a "romantic relationship." Despite his attempt to appear strong, Bostock ended up looking clueless every time he strayed from prepared comments. Bostock isn't a natural when it comes to dealing with the public. If he keeps opening his mouth about Microsoft, he'll start to look like Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction soon ("We called the shots" begins to look eerily similar to "Don't you ever pity me, you smug bastard."). If he's trying to play hard to get, he's not doing a good job--and he's certainly not endearing himself to Microsoft or anyone else with his rehashing of the offers and counteroffers. Obviously, there was some miscommunication. A two dollar difference ($31 or $33) doesn't ordinarily derail a deal. Either play nice so everyone can sit together again, or walk away--it's so simple, even a Harvard MBA should be able to get it.

Other questions involved an accusation Yahoo had not sold Yahoo Japan for the highest value. Yang said he recused himself on the Yahoo Japan board at the time of the transaction and sold a stake at the particular price because of tax implications, preferring to get a continuing revenue stream over ten years.

The same shareholder complained about Sue Decker's other board memberships, such as Berkshire Hathaway, Costco, and Intel. Other board members leapt to Sue's defense, saying she was a hard worker and answered emails at 3AM and had a great grasp of the company. Ms. Decker responded politely and added she specifically rejected several invites to join other companies' audit committees to save time for Yahoo.

Bostock rejected a request for him to step down and said director compensation was not high, disputing the numbers the shareholder provided. The shareholder responded that his numbers came from the proxy.

Other shareholders complained not all the directors had shown up and some did not even own stock in the company. Another shareholder complained about the lack of female board members.

Stephen Shankland and Wendy Tanaka wrote accurate summaries of the meeting:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10004577-93.html

http://www.forbes.com/technology/2008/08/01/yahoo-icahn-microsoft-tech-cx_wt_0801yahoo.html

Here is the BBC's take:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7538469.stm/

All in all, Yahoo had a successful day and pulled off a professional event after settling with Carl Icahn earlier. What was projected to be a media circus was just another shareholder meeting. Jerry Yang's image went up dramatically--he looked poised, prepared, and fresh. Meanwhile, Roy Bostock looked tired, bitter, and combative. I added 50 shares of Yahoo, a nominal amount, when I returned to my office. I like the company, but with Bostock around, I'm not sure a deal with Microsoft will get done anytime soon. I was hoping Decker could pull some strings with her colleague Warren Buffett, who would talk to Bill Gates, but now it all seems too complicated. Almost like a messy, bad breakup.