Yahoo today reported [PDF] first quarter earnings for 2009.

The California-based web giant reported net income of $310-million ($0.22 per share), up significantly from the same period last year when the company reported total profits of only $118-million ($0.08 per share).

Total revenue in Q1 2010 was $1,597-million, up marginally by 1-percent over the same period last year.

“We had a good quarter, delivering income from operations higher than our outlook,”
said Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz.

Carol Bartz became the CEO of Yahoo after co-founder Jerry Yang stepped down from increasing pressure from shareholders and board members after he failed to accept a Microsoft acquisition offer of $33 per share. The Yahoo stock shortly after began declining hovering about $10 per share as a result from many factors including intensifying competition from rivals Microsoft and Google, and unfavorable macroeconomic market conditions.

Although the quarterly earnings were positive, the actual earnings marginally missed analyst expectations.

The company continues to struggle with its web presence that is seeing a continued decline in its advertising business. A significant amount of total revenue the company generates is from its online advertising business, which saw total sales in the quarter decline by 14-percent from the same period last year.

As at March 2010, the company held 17-percent of the total online search market share in the U.S., compared to rival Google who held about 65-percent.

Despite the positive news and a positive outlook for the second quarter, the Yahoo stock (NASDAQ:YHOO) is trading down more than 5-percent to $17.45 per share in early morning trading.