Yahoo CEO says company is going public again: report

Tech company primed for investment as ‘growth stock’

Yahoo is planning a second initial public offering (IPO) on Wall Street after delisting from public markets more than five years ago. 

Yahoo CEO Jim Lanzone recently told the Financial Times the tech company is "very profitable" and primed for a return.

The stock exploded over 600% within two years of Yahoo’s original IPO in April 1996. Yahoo was bought by Verizon Communications in a $4.5 billion deal roughly one year before leaving the Nasdaq in April 2017.

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Jim Lanzone in 2022

Yahoo CEO Jim Lanzone speaks onstage during TechCrunch Disrupt 2022 Oct. 20, 2022, in San Francisco.  (Kimberly White/Getty Images for TechCrunch / Getty Images)

Yahoo was sold to Apollo Funds in 2021. 

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David Russell, a VP of market intelligence at the TradeStation Group, told FOX Business Yahoo has chosen "a logical time for an IPO because this year’s historic gains in the Nasdaq show there’s demand for growth stocks again.

"All this talk about a ‘new bull market’ has private-equity firms seeing dollars," he added. "It’s not a surprise to see strong demand for stocks creating new supply."

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In February, Yahoo announced plans to lay off more than 1,600 employees, or roughly 20% of its staff, by the end of 2023 as the company restructures its advertising technology unit. 

Yahoo headquarters

The regional headquarters of Internet company Yahoo in the Silicon Valley town of Sunnyvale, Calif., Oct. 28, 2018.  (Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images / Getty Images)

Meanwhile, Lanzone reportedly told the Financial Times Yahoo will aggressively search for growth opportunities through mergers and acquisitions.

Lanzone also admitted Yahoo was still "too small" to take on Google and Microsoft’s search engine Bing, but he is optimistic and sees AI offering new opportunities for the company.

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Jim Lanzone at conference

Yahoo CEO Jim Lanzone speaks onstage during The 2022 Makers Conference at Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach Oct. 24, 2022, in Dana Point, Calif.  (Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for the Makers Conference / Getty Images)

In an interview with FOX Business, Craig Erlam, a senior market analyst for OANDA in New York, said, "The numbers look good, but the question on everyone’s lips is can Yahoo really compete with the larger competitors.

"Soon, we will find out if investors believe that’s a realistic goal, but under the right leadership, there’s clearly room for growth." 

Yahoo has yet to respond to inquiries from FOX Business.