What earnings reports have revealed about ads

This week, companies that sell advertising began releasing their earnings reports for the latest quarter. Yahoo reported on Tuesday, with Google and Microsoft reporting later in the week.

Here are highlights of recent quarterly earnings reports from selected Internet and media companies and what they say about the state of spending on advertising:

- Monday: Gannett Co. says advertising demand was "uneven" and "choppy." Ad revenue at Gannett's newspaper publishing segment fell 8 percent to $594 million. Broadcasting revenue climbed 11 percent to $205 million, helped by stronger political and auto-related TV advertising, as well as growth at Gannett's Captivate business, which shows ads in elevators. The company expects the Olympics and political spending to bolster results in the second half of the year.

- Tuesday: Yahoo Inc. says revenue for the latest quarter dipped 1 percent to $1.22 billion. After taking out ad commissions, Yahoo's net revenue totaled $1.08 billion. That figure fell about $16 million below analyst estimates. The net revenue, a focal point for investors, was slightly higher than the same time last year. That marked the second consecutive quarter that Yahoo had posted modestly higher net revenue.

Omnicom Group Inc., which owns marketing agencies, says its U.S. business helped lift second-quarter net income 1.5 percent, making up for a decline overseas. Domestic revenue grew 5.4 percent, while international revenue fell 1.3 percent.

Coming up:

- Thursday: Google Inc., Microsoft Corp.

- July 25: AOL Inc., IAC/InterActiveCorp

- July 26: The New York Times Co., The Interpublic Group of Cos.

- July 27: The McClatchy Co.

- July 31: Discovery Communications Inc.

- Aug. 1: Time Warner Inc., Comcast Corp.

- Aug. 2: CBS Corp., Time Warner Cable Inc.

- Aug. 3: Viacom Inc., The Washington Post Co.

- Aug. 7: The Walt Disney Co.