Bronte Media

The one reason Yahoo bombed Q3 was the complete disintegration of its international business. So it is interesting to see this little nugget appear on the eve of Toby Coppel’s, the head of Yahoo Europe, departure.

Kara Swisher got ahold of Sue Decker’s farewell note, in which there was this little nugget:

“Market share gains in our display business in all markets over the past 12 months”

There are two international regions that matter: Europe and Asia. And in Asia the most important market is Japan, which Yahoo has an investment and seems to be doing OK.

But in the third quarter Yahoo’s international revenue was down 12% year over year. A lot has to do with Google running over it in search but truth be told there wasn’t much to run over: Google has always commanded 80%+ market share in international markets versus the US where it had to gain market share at a steady pace. So in other words, there wasn’t much Yahoo international search revenue to lose in the last year.

It’s incredible that Decker can say that they have gained display market share. I just can’t see how. The IAB UK, which is not reliable but is something, says that advertising in the UK was up 21% in the first half of this year. The UK is the most important European online ad market.

So what am I missing? Is Decker’s comment some sort of investment-bank inspired analysis where they inevitably find themselves at the top of the leader board in transactions in Rhode Island that are more than $34m but less than $56m?

How can Yahoo’s international revenue decline 12% in the third quarter and they still claim to have outpaced the European display market?