Yahoo profit down, outlook intact; CEO set to stay

By Eric Auchard SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Yahoo Inc's net profit fell 19 percent but investors took heart that it did not change its outlook despite a weakening U.S. economy and the distraction of Microsoft Corp's failed takeover bid. Shares of the Internet company, which just settled a proxy battle with activist investor Carl Icahn, rose 2.7 percent to $21.99 in extended trade following the quarterly report. "Investors braced for the worst," said Jeffrey Lindsay, analyst at Sanford Bernstein. "... these results are poor, but relative to what people were expecting, they're not so bad." Chief Financial Officer Blake Jorgensen said Yahoo was not changing its financial view for 2008, even though a difficult economic environment is weighing on online advertising. "We are pretty pleased (with results), relative to both the... [read full story]