YoY Nov '24→'25 across all US publishers. Yahoo News at −27% — outperforming industry avg.
AI Overviews CTR Impact
−46%
CTR drops 15%→8% when AI Overview shown (Pew). Now on 13% of queries, up from 6.5% Jan '25.
News Group Search DAU Loss
−41%
Internal: Search referral DAU 7.9M→4.6M (Jan '25→Mar '26). Primary driver of total decline.
Mail vs. News Group (proof)
+27pp
Mail +3.5% YoY vs News −24% YoY in Mar '26. Same period. Different channel dependency.
US 28D DAU — Year-over-Year % by Property
Red dashed = Google algorithm events · Purple dashed = Yahoo launches
Mail
News Group
Finance
Sports
Homepage
Google Event
Yahoo Launch
US 28D DAU — Absolute (Millions)
Mail ~25M · News Group 11–16M · Homepage 7–9M · Sports 3–8M seasonal · Finance 3–5M
US 28D DAU (Mar '26)
25.99M
+3.53% YoY · +0.6% vs Budget · On plan all year
YoY Trend
+3.5%
Positive YoY every month in scope. Accelerating from +1% (Jan '25) to +3.5% (Mar '26).
vs Budget (Mar '26)
+0.6%
Closest property to plan. Within ±1.5% of budget every month except Nov '25 (+2.8%).
Desktop Mix (Global)
23%
Desktop declining ~-9% YoY; Mobile growing. Desktop was 25% in Jan '25 — structural shift ongoing.
US DAU — Actual vs Budget
Mail is the only property consistently on/above plan
Actual
Budget
YoY % (right axis)
Global DAU — Desktop vs Mobile
Mobile ~77% and growing; Desktop declining ~-9% YoY
Desktop
Mobile
Yahoo Internal Events
Feb 2 '26MAILOasis International Expansion GA'd. Mail +2.45% YoY in Feb.
Feb 9 '26MAILAndroid + iOS Mobile Redesign GA'd at 100%. New nav, UI, Calendar integration.
Mar 9 '26MAILPlanner launched on iOS + Android. Sponsored ads pilot planned Mar 16.
Mar 27 '26MAILPhase One Instrumentation completed. 3M mailboxes migrated to GCP.
Key Takeaways
Why flat?Mail is a direct-navigation product — users type mail.yahoo.com or open the app. Not dependent on Google Search or Discover. Immunized from algorithm changes hitting News/Finance.
Desktop ↓Desktop DAU declining (-9% YoY) while mobile holds flat/grows. Consistent with broader web→app shift for email. Global desktop fell from 14.7M → 13.4M (Jan '25→Mar '26).
BudgetWithin ±1.5% of budget every month. The only property that consistently hit or beat plan in FY25. FY26 budget reset slightly higher at 25.5–25.9M range.
US 28D DAU (Mar '26)
12.25M
−23.7% YoY · −18.0% vs Budget · Down from 16.4M in Jan '25
Search DAU Collapse
−41%
Search referral: 7.9M (Jan '25) → 4.6M (Mar '26). Single biggest driver of total decline.
vs Budget (Mar '26)
−18%
Budget reset from 15–17M to 13–15M range for FY26. Still missing the reset target by 2.7M.
Mobile Collapse
−30%
Global mobile DAU: 15M (H1 '25) → 10.5M (Q1 '26). Desktop -17%. Mobile drives most of the loss.
US DAU — Actual vs Budget
On plan Jan–Jun '25 · Sharp miss from Jul '25 · Budget reset for FY26
Actual
Budget
YoY % (right axis)
Global DAU — Desktop vs Mobile
Mobile fell -30% YoY; Desktop -17%. Mobile now 58% of total vs 61% in Jan '25
Desktop
Mobile
US DAU — Referral Channel Breakdown (Stacked)
Search (red) is the structural story — collapsed -41% while Direct and Null Referrer are more stable
Search
Direct Referrer
Null Ref (app/bookmark)
Other (ex HP)
Yahoo HP Referral
Social
Event Timeline
Mar '25GOOGLECore Update — 14 days. YoY still near flat at this point (+2.6%).
Jun '25GOOGLECore Update — YoY turns negative. -0.4% May → -2.6% Jul.
Dec 11 '25GOOGLECore Update (18 days) — Discover traffic collapsed. News Group hits worst YoY: −27%. US publishers -38% overall.
Feb 5 '26GOOGLEDiscover-Specific Update — Yahoo named by Press Gazette with Forbes & Fox.
Mar 27 '26GOOGLEBroad Core Update — impact likely in Apr '26 data.
Mar 3 '26YAHOOSupernova Personalization / Re-Circ GA'd. YoY ticks from −27% → −24%.
Mar 11 '26YAHOOScout M2 SXSW Launch — Cheatsheet mobile, Comment Summaries, Y100 Topics. First major product investment in months.
Key Takeaways
vs PeersCNN -27–38% YoY; Business Insider -55% since Apr '22. Yahoo News at -22–27% — outperforming the industry despite the headline number looking bad.
ChannelSearch is the sole cause of structural decline. Direct Referrer (-17%) is slow bleed. Null Referrer (app/bookmarks) most stable. Search fell from 50% of referrals to 38%.
Budget gapSep–Dec '25 budget was set assuming -11→-18% YoY growth. Actual missed by -25→-31%. FY26 budget reset to 13–15M but still missing by 2.7M in Mar '26.
US 28D DAU (Mar '26)
3.74M
−17.7% YoY · −17.4% vs Budget · Persistently below plan
Null Referrer (Stable)
~3.2M
Direct/app/Discover traffic held flat entire period. Intent-driven audience most resilient to Google changes.
vs Budget (Mar '26)
−17%
Budget was 4.53M vs actual 3.74M. Chronically below plan since Jan '25 (except Apr '25 +7%, Dec '25 +6%).
Oct '25 Redesign Effect
+3.0%
Finance HP redesign (removed pillars, content up) → only positive YoY month in H2 '25. Confirmed by internal Glean.
US DAU — Actual vs Budget
Oct '25 redesign bounce clearly visible. Feb '26 Discover update cuts it back.
Actual
Budget
YoY % (right axis)
Global DAU — Desktop vs Mobile
Mobile ~69% dominant. Both declining but Mobile holding up better.
Desktop
Mobile
US DAU — Referral Channel Breakdown (Stacked)
Null Referrer (app/bookmark/Discover) dominates and is stable — unlike News Group, Finance is intent-driven
Search
Direct Referrer
Null Ref (app/bookmark)
Other (ex HP)
Yahoo HP Referral
Social
Event Timeline
Oct '25FINANCEHomepage redesign — removed "pillars," moved content stream up. Only positive YoY month in H2 '25: +3.0%.
Dec 11 '25GOOGLECore Update (18 days) — Finance −7.9% YoY in Dec, some Discover gains eroded.
Feb 10 '26FINANCEScout AI Chat launched at 2% bucket (QSP Summary). Ramped to 5% Feb 17.
Feb 5 '26GOOGLEDiscover-Specific Update — Finance bounces from Oct +3% back to −8% in Feb. Discover gains from redesign partially reversed.
Mar 20–23 '26FINANCEPortfolio Scout Analysis (1% bucket). QSP Summary Scout full ramp.
Mar 27 '26GOOGLEBroad Core Update — Finance −17.7% YoY in Mar '26. Apr '26 MTD at 3.29M (−27.8% vs budget).
Key Takeaways
ResilienceFinance's Null Referrer (people opening Finance.yahoo.com directly or via app) held ~3.2M flat the entire period. Intent-driven users are harder to displace than discovery-driven users.
RedesignThe Oct '25 homepage redesign drove a measurable Discover traffic boost (+3% YoY). External validation: moving content up the page signals freshness to Google Discover algorithms.
RiskApr '26 MTD at 3.29M is tracking -27.8% vs budget. The Mar 27 Google Core Update may compound into Q2. Scout AI tools need to show engagement uplift soon.
US 28D DAU (Mar '26)
3.07M
−2.79% YoY — first negative month in 15. −15.0% vs Budget.
Peak DAU (Sep '25)
7.77M
NFL season drives 2.5x the off-season base. Sep +7.6% YoY, Jul +57.5% YoY.
vs Budget (Mar '26)
−15%
Strong summer beat (+40% Jul, +32% Aug) offset by football season tail miss (Nov -11%, Dec -11%).
Mobile Share (Global)
83%
Sports is almost entirely a mobile product. NFL season spikes mobile to 7–8M. Desktop stays flat at 0.7–1.3M.
US DAU — Actual vs Budget
Summer massive beat · Football tail softened · Off-season Mar '26 first negative YoY
Actual
Budget
YoY % (right axis)
Global DAU — Desktop vs Mobile
NFL season drives mobile to 7–8M (Sep–Dec) · Desktop barely moves · Off-season mobile collapses to 3M
Desktop
Mobile
⚠ Fantasy vs Core split not available in current data source — provide a Fantasy DAU feed to enable this breakdown
Event Timeline
Jul–Aug '25SPORTSNFL preseason hype — +39.6% vs budget in Jul, +32.2% in Aug. Strong overperformance.
Sep '25SPORTSNFL season peak: 7.77M US DAU (+7.6% YoY). Beat budget by +6.6%.
Dec '25GOOGLEDec Core Update + football season tail — YoY turns slightly negative (-1.4%), budget miss -11%.
Jan '26SPORTSOff-season return to ~3.6M US base. +11.2% YoY driven by prior year comparison (Jan '25 was low).
Mar '26GOOGLEFirst negative YoY month in 15 (-2.79%). Mar 27 Core Update risk to Apr. Spring off-season = lowest Google exposure period, so if negative now, watch summer.
Key Takeaways
SeasonalityNFL season = ~2.5x the off-season base. Sep–Dec peak masks any underlying structural changes. The true test of Sports health is the May–Aug comparison period.
First negativeMar '26 at -2.79% is the first negative YoY in the data window. Same Google headwinds hitting News now starting to show in Sports. Monitor closely — Sports has more search dependency than Mail.
FantasyFantasy is a high-engagement, habit-forming product that likely behaves differently from core Sports news. If Fantasy DAU is available separately, it would show whether the decline is in browse/news content or in core fantasy users.
US 28D DAU (Mar '26)
8.05M
+0.06% YoY — first non-negative month in 15. Possible early inflection signal.
YoY Range (2025)
−9→−20%
Steady structural decline all of 2025. Accelerated from -9% (Jan '25) to -20% (Jan '26).
Budget
N/A
No budget comparison available for Homepage in this data file.
Desktop Mix (Global)
57%
Homepage is the most desktop-heavy property. Desktop declining steadily. Mobile stable. Mar '26 mobile spike (+26% vs Feb) is likely a major news event.
US DAU — Trend + YoY %
Steady decline through 2025 · Near-recovery in Mar '26
US DAU
YoY % (right axis)
Global DAU — Desktop vs Mobile
Desktop-dominant (57%). Mobile spike in Mar '26 (+26% MoM) — news event driven.
Desktop
Mobile
Event Timeline
All '25GOOGLEDeclining Google referral traffic to HP throughout 2025. HP is a gateway product — users land here from search, then navigate to News/Finance. Search decline hits HP as well.
Dec '25GOOGLEDec Core Update — HP hits -17.8% YoY, near worst point.
Mar 6 '26YAHOOYahoo Scout entry point added to HP search bar GA'd. HP starts showing first positive YoY sign.
Mar '26YAHOOHP hits +0.06% YoY — first non-negative month. MAU spiked to 65.6M from 38.5M in Feb (likely major news event + Scout launch combined).
Key Takeaways
GatewayYahoo Homepage is a funnel entry point — users land here from Google and then navigate to News/Finance/Sports. As Google search traffic to Yahoo declines, HP suffers as a downstream effect.
Mar signalThe Mar '26 +0.06% YoY is worth monitoring. Could be: (a) Scout entry point driving new HP visits, (b) a one-time news event, or (c) a genuine inflection. Apr data will clarify — Apr '26 MTD showing 8.14M (+14% vs Mar).
MAU spikeUS MAU jumped from 38M (Feb) to 65.6M (Mar). Mobile MAU: 29M → 58M. This magnitude of jump (70%) almost certainly reflects a major breaking news event drawing casual users to yahoo.com.