Company Overview

Despite its irreverent name, Yahoo is serious business. The Internet and new media company was started in April 1994 by two Stanford PhD candidates as a way to keep track of favorite sites on the Internet. By the end of 1994, Yahoo had become a customized database, offering its search capabilities to the small but growing Internet community. Yahoo has since mushroomed into an all-encompassing online portal, offering news, e-mail, finance, job-listing, ISP, shopping, travel, and instant messaging services as well as geographic, demographic, special interest, and community-specific listings.

It generates most of its revenue through ad sales, but it also charges subscriptions for premium services. In addition, Yahoo! provides online marketing and other commercial services, and offers Internet access through partnerships with telecommunications firms. In 2008 Yahoo! rejected Microsoft's unsolicited buyout offer.