Even taking into account the one-time $350 million payment received from AT&T (NYSE: T) in the year-ago period, I still think the company has to work on the quality of its cash flow. Yahoo! has yet to find the secret to growth for its various Internet assets.

However, we should perhaps give CEO Carol Bartz some time. She's still new to the job. She took the corner office from Jerry Yang in January of this year. And I guess we have to keep in mind that the recession in advertising is still with us.

However, you can't blame all of Yahoo!'s woes on the recession. The company has a lot of work to do in terms of changing the fundamentals of its model so that it may prosper in the years to come.

One of the things Yahoo! is doing is cutting jobs. Bartz definitely wants to get control of the company's cost structure. It's going to be a tough battle. And then there is all the talk concerning Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT). I guess Yahoo! and Microsoft are still talking about an ad deal. Personally, I'm sick of all this Yahoo!/Microsoft stuff. Oh well, what can you do? I suppose Yahoo! might have to make a deal of some kind to stay relevant as the evolution of the web continues on its fast-paced course.

Bartz has a reputation for being a tough CEO. I hope she's as competent as she is tough. By the way, did you hear how she swore on the conference call? She said the dreaded F word. I hope she exerts more control over Yahoo!'s operations than she does over her mouth!

I can understand the angry attitude given the challenge at hand. Now, with the stock having seen a run-up (at the time of this writing, the stock is up well over 20% over the three-month frame), and with Carol Bartz now assuming the role of Cursing Executive Officer, should you buy the stock? I suppose you could trade the strength of this name if you're careful and quick. Unless you're a competent, disciplined trader, though, I'd probably stay away. Yahoo! still has its problems, and I think there are better investment alternatives out there.

Disclosure: I don't own any company mentioned; positions can change without notice.