Yahoo's uninspiring quarterly sales forecast disappointed Wall Street and underscored how the one-time Internet leader is struggling to keep up with Google and Facebook.
Investors have pressured Yahoo, the leader in display advertising, and Chief Executive Carol Bartz to deliver growth and revive its stock price, amid talk that private equity firms are exploring a buyout of the $20 billion company.
"She was already on the hotseat. I don't think she's off the hotseat. The results have not shown any kind of real improvements," analyst Yun Kim of Gleacher & Co said of Bartz.
During a conference call with analysts on Tuesday, Bartz defended the company's progress on her watch, citing improvements to Yahoo's technology that have made it nimbler, as well as a doubling in operating margins to about 12 percent in the third quarter.
"We're working to reverse years of decelerating growth," said Bartz, who joined in 2009 and has since laid off staff and shed various Web businesses.