Yahoo Earnings Impressed Investors, Hinted at Prosperous Future

Yahoo!

impressed investors when it reported third-quarter results Monday afternoon,

to the company's shares. Revenues came in at $1.089 billion,

among analysts, which expected Yahoo to post a gain over its 3Q 2011 results.

The company reiterated new hires, which included Henrique de Castro (COO) and Ken Goldman (CFO). Yahoo also spoke about its success in closing the initial stage of its share repurchase agreement with Alibaba. The firm received pre-tax proceeds valued at $7.6 billion ($6.3 billion in cash and $800 million in preferred shares, along with a payment of $550 million related to a technology and intellectual property license agreement). Yahoo also announced its plans to return 85 percent of net cash proceeds to shareholders, amounting to $3.65 billion. Some of that money has already been returned; Yahoo has given back $646 million since the agreement was announced earlier in 2012. While shareholder value was a big part of Yahoo's earnings release, it was not the only talking point. The company also announced that during the 2012 London Olympic Games, Yahoo's Web properties garnered more than three billion page views. That's more than the combined page views that Yahoo received during both the 2008 Summer Beijing and 2010 Winter Vancouver Games. The Presidential Election has also had a positive effect on Yahoo's website. During the first two weeks of the political conventions, the site's "election-related experiences" received 45 percent more page views than in 2008. In discussing the future, the company did not yet detail the plans of its

. Instead, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer

about the firm's M&A goals. "The size and scale that is comfortable for a great integration, a great product coming out of it, is something that is much more in the size and scale of double-digit millions and low hundreds of millions," Mayer said. Mayer also said that she is

to taking Yahoo back to its roots as a consumer internet company that's "focused on [the] user experience." The

user, that is. "Our top priority is a focused, coherent mobile strategy," Mayer

. "The way we all consume content has dramatically shifted.” Further, Mayer said that she is "encouraged by the stabilization in search and display revenue." "We're taking important steps to position Yahoo for long-term success, and we're confident that our focus on quality and improving the user experience will drive increased value for our advertisers, partners and shareholders," she said in a

.