aol

AOL beats Street on earnings, but changes could be afoot

Last updated: 9:04 a.m. PT

AOL had a stronger-than-expected first quarter, posting higher revenue and profits than Wall Street had expected.

The online giant today announced that it generated $529.4 million in revenue during the first quarter, beating the Street's $527 million consensus. AOL was able to make a $21.1 million profit, or 22 cents per share, during the period. AOL's profit was up 349 percent year-over-year from the $4.7 million net income it posted last year.

"AOL is a much stronger company today than a year ago and began 2012 by … Read more

AOL strikes back at Starboard Value over proxy fight

AOL has been getting hit from all sides by activist investor Starboard Value. But in a letter to shareholders, the company is hitting back.

"Starboard, and in particular its principal, Mr. Jeffrey Smith, have rebuffed AOL's numerous efforts to avoid a destructive and expensive proxy fight," AOL wrote in a letter to shareholders that was released today and dated yesterday. "We believe that Starboard's misleading proxy campaign not only prevents stockholders from making an informed vote at the Annual Meeting, but has created a destructive atmosphere for AOL and the long-term interests of all of … Read more

Facebook's next patent push: The top suspect

When Yahoo filed its sweeping patent lawsuit against Facebook, claiming that Facebook essentially built its social network on the back of Yahoo's intellectual property, Mark Zuckerberg took little time to take up arms.

In just over a month, Facebook has snapped up more than 1,400 patents -- 750 from IBM in March, and on Monday, 650 from Microsoft. It's all a swift attempt to bolster its position against Yahoo and to amass a war chest to scare off others looking to sue a company whose pockets will grow ever deeper once it goes public.

And based on … Read more

Facebook's patent spree: There's more where that came from

When a company with nearly limitless resources shows itself ready to spend whatever is necessary to beef up its intellectual property portfolio, patent challengers have added incentive to seek out easier fights elsewhere.

So it is that Facebook is again putting its very deep pockets to work, adding a new clutch of patents from Microsoft to an earlier trove it acquired from IBM. The message to Yahoo and beyond is clear: Do you want to get into a spending war with a company whose deep pockets are about to get a lot deeper? In other words, there's a lot … Read more

Facebook buys AOL patents from Microsoft for $550M

Facebook is paying Microsoft $550 million in cash for a chunk of the patent portfolio that Microsoft recently acquired from AOL.

This is all part of Facebook's effort to fatten up its patent war chest as it prepares to go public next month and seeks to stave off potential litigation. It's currently embroiled in a big patent fight with Yahoo, and last month Facebook struck a deal with IBM to purchase some 750 of its patents, which cover "software and networking" technologies.

Earlier this month, Microsoft spent more than $1 billion to buy roughly 800 patents from AOL, … Read more

Web video eyes TV ad dollars, goes ga-ga for upfronts

Google and AOL are going upfront-happy to sell their online video inventory in a move that emulates common practices by television networks.

In a practice known as the upfronts, television networks sell shows and ad space for the season ahead. The upfronts are a handy way to sell ad inventory in advance and garner predictable revenue streams.

Now Web video players are getting into the act.

Last week, Google executives noted that YouTube would be holding upfronts in May. And now AOL is getting into the act.

Just today, AOL said that it will offer "guaranteed audience delivery for online video … Read more

Instagram's instant billion-dollar payday

week in review Just weeks away from what's expected to be a historic Internet IPO, Facebook announced it had agreed to acquire the hugely popular photo-sharing smartphone app Instagram in a cash and stock deal valued at about $1 billion.

Facebook has made a slew of acquisitions to date, but nothing of this scale. Instagram is a 2-year-old startup that comes with some 33 million users and a growth rate that's the envy of Silicon Valley.

The key win for Facebook here is mobile engagement. The social network has had a mobile app for years, but it doesn'… Read more

Why Microsoft spent $1 billion on AOL's patents

Microsoft dropped an eye-popping $1 billion on 800 AOL patents today, an astonishing amount likely spent to keep the intellectual property trove away from rival Google.

But according to a source close to the situation, Google didn't even bid on the portfolio.

That makes Microsoft's lavish bid, which averages $1.25 million per patent, all the more astounding. Still, even without Google, there was good reason: according to data crunched by MDB Capital Group, an investment banking firm that focuses on intellectual property, the AOL patents have far more relevance to Microsoft than to any other company.

MDB … Read more

AOL's patent sell-off: A failure of nerve

I'm terribly divided over the news this morning that AOL will sell more than 800 patents and patent applications to Microsoft, the tech giant.

Is it AOL dismantling the ship for parts, or a savvy move to consolidate and refocus?

At first glance, the move appears to be a smart one. Avoiding the patent litigation that has ensnared Yahoo and Facebook -- with tech patents so willfully vague, it's a wonder each of us hasn't been sued yet -- AOL completes a tidy deal with Microsoft that gives the beleaguered company a bunch of cash to spend, … Read more