By Liana B. Baker
(Reuters) - Yahoo (O:YHOO) Inc is expected to announce on Tuesday that it is exploring "strategic alternatives" for its struggling Internet business, a person familiar with the matter said.
Yahoo, which is also scheduled to report fourth-quarter results after the markets close, declined to comment.
The company's plans to turn around its struggling core business are set to dominate its earnings report, with investors keen to see if CEO Marissa Mayer will push ahead with a proposed spin-off or entertain calls for a complete sale.
The spin-off of its main business, which includes its search engine and digital advertising units, was announced by Mayer in December after Yahoo abandoned efforts to sell its stake in Alibaba (N:BABA) Group Holding Ltd.
But, the company has provided little details since.
Yahoo's shares pared earlier losses after the Wall Street Journal first reported the news on the strategic alternatives. (http://on.wsj.com/1JWbNd5)
The stock is currently trading down 1.3 percent at $29.20.
Chief Executive Marissa Mayer is set to reveal cost-cutting plans that include slashing 15 percent of the company's workforce, or roughly 1,600 jobs, and closing several business units, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.
Some activist investors are pushing Yahoo to ditch the spin-off and instead sell the core business. Verizon Communications Inc (N:VZ) has expressed interest in the core, and analysts say other potential buyers include media and private equity firms.