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Yahoo rolled into the Carol Bartz era about two weeks ago.  Today, the company closed the books on Jerry Yang’s brief executive stint with the release of Q4 earnings.   Buried under nearly $603m in one time charges, Yahoo came in with a loss of $303.4m. 

$108m in restructuring costs.  $488m in Goodwill Impairment from overseas.  $7m on the quarter in lingering expenses from defraying Microsoft’s takeover overtures.

It wasn’t the news that was expected, but looking past the one time elements, it wasn’t all bad either.  

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With Microsoft bumping its earnings news to an earlier time slot, after the close of markets Thursday all eyes were on Google.  Would worsening ad trends show heavily in the Q4 and full year results? Or like Apple the day before, would Google outperform the economy and best expectations?  The numbers tell the tale:

Analysts were expecting EPS of $4.95 a share, excluding onetime elements (non-GAAP).  Net revenue was forecast at 4.12b.  Paid click growth was estimated to be 17%.

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"Nobody loves you when you’re down and out….Everybody’s hustlin’ for a buck and a dime” sang John Lennon.  Sony and Microsoft may know exactly what he meant (at least with regard to how shareholders treat their stocks).  The two companies were the first to make big earnings announcements today.  The news from both was poor.  The lead storylines were cost savings and disappointments.   Breaking out the two announcements side by side:

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Many retailers fell apart this holiday season, their registers ringing up far less of the holiday cheer than they’d have liked.  Companies were cutting staff. Cash was being conserved.  Spending, especially on premium products was way down.  Apple, despite the so called “Apple Tax,” the name sometimes spitefully applied to the higher pricing on Apple’s products, bucked the trend.   Earnings for the period ended December 27th, while shadowed with some elements of mixed quality, handily beat expectations. 

For the first quarter of Fiscal 2009, Apple reported its best revenue result of all time.  Total sales for the quarter crossed past $10 billion to $10.17b.  Year over year, the gain was 5.8% compared to last year’s sales of $9.6b.

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The November NPD gaming statistics are due within the week but even without the register receipt detail, it’s clear the economy is having an impact on the industry.  While some companies are thriving, others are falling apart.

Nintendo’s president Satoru Iwata recently told Reuters that Wii sales more than doubled over the Thanksgiving holiday to nearly 800k units.  Microsoft similarly reported a positive initial surge.  Xbox sales were up 25% the Black Friday weekend.

Closer to the other pole, fortunes (or shoppers) aren’t being as kind to Electronic Arts.   In light of weaker than expected sales, EA announced today that they are lowering their fiscal year 2009 guidance for both earnings per share and net revenue. (The year ends in March).

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Since the beginning of August, the Japanese Yen has risen almost 35% against the Euro and about ten percent against the dollar.  For Japanese businesses that rely heavily on overseas sales, companies like Sony and Canon, these fluctuations are wreaking havoc on net income as they convert revenues across to their native Yen.  The pain was obvious in Sony’s earnings announcement yesterday.  Today, Nintendo, though on much stronger footing, showed a hint of the same ailment.

In earnings news, Nintendo raised sales targets for the Wii console heading into the holiday period  but simultaneously lowered net profit forecast for the fiscal year ending in March by 16% (about 65,000m Yen).  

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Sony warned of financial trouble last week.  Now it’s official.  Hit with the triple whammy of a unexpected currency fluctuation, weakening consumer spending and mounting losses at the music division, the company reported a 72% drop (y/y) in net income for the fiscal second quarter ended September 30th.

By the numbers, for the 2nd quarter, total revenue was ¥2,072b.  At Sept. 30th exchange rates of ¥104 to $1 that translated to about $19.93b.  (At Wednesday’s intraday rate of about 97 Yen to the dollar it’s equivalent to near $21.4b).  Net income was ¥20.8b or ¥19.83 per diluted share. 

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