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How Much Is Yahoo's Microsoft Partnership Worth?

Nearly a third. That's how much of Yahoo Inc.'s revenue comes from its Microsoft partnership.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has been pestering Yahoo with inquiries on the matter dating back several months and finally got an answer, the Reuters news service reported Tuesday. 

According to Reuters, Yahoo had previously stated that its 2009 search agreement with Microsoft comprised more than 10 percent of sales. The new filing indicates that the company received 31 percent of its revenue from the deal in the latest quarter, Reuters reported. Going by Yahoo's $1.1 billion in reported revenues for the quarter ended Sept. 30, that would amount to about $350 million from Microsoft.

Yahoo's earnings have missed Wall Street expectations for several quarters. The stock has rebounded substantially since Marissa Mayer came in as CEO in July 2012, though -- a result frequently attributed to the company's pre-existing large investment holdings in the Chinese company Alibaba and in Yahoo Japan, rather than to the strength of Yahoo's core business.

For more on the state of Microsoft's highest-profile dance partner (now that Nokia's relevant businesses are being brought in house), Vanity Fair recently posted a thoroughly reported Bethany McLean profile of Mayer.

Posted by Scott Bekker on December 11, 2013


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