Yahoo!'s Direction Key For Shareholders

NEW YORK (TheStreet) - Even though the plan to turn Yahoo!(YHOO) around has been laid out, it will take plenty of time to fix the company. The company's first-quarter earnings may offer a glimpse of what's to come.

Following weak fourth-quarter numbers earlier this year, led primarily by tepid advertising sales, Yahoo! is attempting to turn its business around by focusing more on its customers.

Earlier this month, CEO Scott Thompson released a letter outlining his plan to restructure Yahoo! into three divisions: Consumer, (which is comprised of Media, Connections and Commerce), Regions, which targets emerging markets, and Technology, which focuses on the company's infrastructure.

Investors will also be looking for detail on Yahoo!'s recently-announced layoffs during the company's first-quarter conference call, as well as any hints of additional cuts.

J.P. Morgan analyst Doug Anmuth notes that investor focus is less likely to be on the quarterly results, and more on Thompson's plan to turn the company around. "Following the round of layoffs and the reorg, we believe investors are focused on Scott Thompson's strategy for the business. We know he's focused on the core business, improved data and targeting functionality and fee-based revenue, but we've heard only limited details thus far," Anmuth wrote in a research report. The analyst rates Yahoo! shares "neutral" with a $17 price target.