Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz predicts increased spending in 3Q will yield long-term dividends

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On The Call: Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz

SAN FRANCISCO — Yahoo Inc.’s inability to attract more Web surfers and online advertisers outside the United States is one of the reasons the company hasn’t performed as well as Internet search leader Google Inc.

Carol Bartz, Yahoo’s chief executive officer, addressed Yahoo’s international strengths and weaknesses with analysts in a conference call held Tuesday after the company reported its best quarter since her hiring a year ago.

QUESTION: Could you talk about international and where you want to bring out the best improvements? Where are you weakest now?

ANSWER: As far as international is concerned, (I’m) most happy with our performance in the Asia rim. We have great market share, great penetration. Least happy with, I would say if I had to pick a country, Germany. It’s such a big economy and we really don’t do well there. There is a long history behind that. Spain would be another one, obviously not as important as Germany.

Where we are going to focus is where the big Internet populations are coming online — Indonesia, India, Brazil, Mexico, the obvious. And some of the smaller markets, like Vietnam, we have a great penetration.

Just think of us as following Internet users coming online. And that’s why, of course, mobile is so important to us.