Update: Yahoo! Sees 2001 Revenue Falling Short of Estimates

Updated from 4:52 p.m. ET

Yahoo!(YHOO Quote - Cramer on YHOO - Stock Picks) reported fourth-quarter earnings that met analysts' expectations, but revenue fell short of the figure Wall Street wanted.

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Then the company really went for broke. For 2001, the company projected earnings of 33 cents to 43 cents a share on revenue of $1.2 billion to $1.3 billion. Yahoo! forecast first-quarter earnings of 4 cents to 7 cents a share. According to First Call/Thomson Financial, analysts are expecting earnings of 13 cents a share for the first quarter, and a profit of 57 cents a share on revenue of $1.42 billion for the year.

Market watchers were expecting the Santa Clara, Calif., Internet media and content company to earn 13 cents a share for the fourth quarter, according to First Call, and Yahoo! didn't disappoint in that regard, hitting the number on the head. The company earned 9 cents a share in the year-ago period.

Shares of Yahoo! closed the Nasdaq regular session at $30.50, but rose to $30.94 in after-hours activity on Island before being halted. After being released for trading, Yahoo! tumbled to $24.56. Other well-known Internet players also skidded in extended trading. Online auctioneer eBay(EBAY Quote - Cramer on EBAY - Stock Picks), which closed at $39.31, fell to $35.69. America Online(AOL Quote - Cramer on AOL - Stock Picks) ended the regular session at $44.89, but slipped to $43.75. Internet advertising concern DoubleClick(DCLK Quote - Cramer on DCLK - Stock Picks), which will report earnings tomorrow, traded at $10.38, after closing at $12.44 at 4 p.m.

Yahoo! said total fourth-quarter revenue rose 53% to $310.9 million from $203.1 million in the same period a year ago. Analysts were looking for revenue of $315.1 million. The company reported a top line of $295.6 million in the latest third quarter.

The company said its global audience rose to 180 million unique users in December from 120 million a year ago. The company said 60 million registered members used Yahoo! in December, almost double the total from last year.