Yahoo Acquires Four11, Posts Profit

Yahoo Inc. extended the reach of its Internet media powerhouse, acquiring Four11 Corp., an electronic mail and directory company, for about $94 million in stock. Yahoo, which provides a searchable catalog of the World Wide Web, also reported surprisingly strong third-quarter earnings and said its average daily traffic had soared to a record 50 million page views in September. The Santa Clara-based company, which has grown into an advertising-based media Web site, earned $1.6 million, or 3 cents a share, in the quarter ended Sept. 30, contrasted with a net loss of $1.1 million, or 3 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. Yahoo had an operating profit of $222,000 on revenue of $17.3 million, versus an operating loss of $2.57 million on revenue of $5.5 million a year earlier. Yahoo shares rose $1 to close at $56.75 on Nasdaq. . . . Novato-based Broderbund Software Inc. said it had a wider-than-expected loss before charges in its fiscal fourth quarter. It spent heavily to market its new video game, Riven, the sequel to Myst. The company said it had a loss of $2.2 million, or 11 cents a share, before the charges, contrasted with a profit before a charge in the year-ago quarter of $4.2 million, or 20 cents. Broderbund was expected to report a loss of 2 cents a share.