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By Deepa Seetharaman 

Yahoo Inc.'s planned sale to Verizon Communications Inc. ended months of speculation about the internet company's future. But the deal spawned another question: What is Marissa Mayer's next act?

Ms. Mayer instantly became one of the most prominent chief executives when Yahoo hired her in 2012 to revive its fortunes. Now the 41-year-old finds herself in an unusual situation as a relatively young veteran CEO with hard-won experience running one of the best-known names in technology, but also with a string of managerial missteps that critics say ultimately worsened Yahoo's fate.

Ms. Mayer said the sale of Yahoo's core assets for $4.8 billion represents a victory. During her tenure Yahoo increased users and added lines responsible for more than a third of its current revenue. "The fact that Verizon is associating so much value with that is overall validating to our efforts," she said.

Ms. Mayer also said she would stay on to help integrate Yahoo with Verizon's AOL and shepherd the sale of its stake in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. The Verizon-Yahoo deal is expected to close in early 2017. "For the next six to nine months, I'm the CEO of Yahoo," she said. "I certainly plan to stay."

Few executive recruiters and Silicon Valley investors expect her to stick around after the sale is completed. And while Ms. Mayer is certainly young enough to lead another company, experts say it is tough to rebound from a rookie reign many observers see as pocked by mistakes that complicated an already-difficult turnaround. Yahoo's revenue stalled and it failed to deliver consistent profitability.

"It's like a pilot who flew the Hindenburg to then be asked to fly the Goodyear Blimp during the Super Bowl," said brand-management expert Eric Schiffer of Ms. Mayer turning CEO again. "It won't happen in the short-term."

Another possibility is a role as an investor or adviser to fledgling companies, some people said. Or Ms. Mayer could bring her product expertise to an operational role at another company.

"There will be no shortage of tech startups that would love to talk to her about having her be their CEO," said Iain Grant, partner at executive search firm Riviera Partners. He added that venture-capital firms in Silicon Valley would also covet Ms. Mayer's experience.

When Ms. Mayer, an engineer whose product-design prowess was revered at Google, joined Yahoo in 2012, the company was in bad shape after falling far behind Google and Facebook Inc. in online advertising.

Yahoo board members hailed her as one of the most promising Silicon Valley executives. An employee hung up signs of her image in the style of the iconic Barack Obama "Hope" posters. She had immediate star power, appearing on the cover of Fortune and in Vogue magazine.

As did her predecessors at Yahoo, Ms. Mayer shifted strategies and ultimately failed to show meaningful growth in revenue. While she pared costs and ended dozens of products, Yahoo remained a hodgepodge of businesses.

"It was obviously a tough run, a tough go for anyone," said Eric Jackson, managing director of SpringOwl Asset Management LLC and a longtime Yahoo shareholder. "But I think she has probably had enough, and wants to move on to the next thing."

None of Ms. Mayer's last five predecessors wound up at the helm of another public company. Terry Semel, Jerry Yang and Carol Bartz became investors or joined the boards of major companies. Tim Koogle, who left Yahoo in 2001, started a philanthropic group and a land-development company. Scott Thompson, who spent five months as CEO, now runs e-commerce company called ShopRunner Inc.

Ms. Mayer has been an angel investor in startups for years, backing companies such as online retailer One Kings Lane and payments startup Square Inc. She also is on the boards of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and fitness-tracker company Jawbone.

On the other hand, "she may be so tired and so well off" that she doesn't work again, said Dennis Carey, a vice chairman of executive recruiters Korn/Ferry International. Ms. Mayer has received over $100 million in compensation during her time at Yahoo, and stands to make about $55 million if she is terminated as part of the sale.

Some analysts and investors say Ms. Mayer could still mount a comeback. JMP Securities analyst Ron Josey pointed to Meg Whitman, who ran eBay Inc. for 10 years before stepping down in 2008. She later became chief executive of Hewlett-Packard, and now runs spinoff Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co.

At Google, Ms. Mayer was known as a talented product manager with a brusque style. At times that lent itself to an inability to delegate and a tendency to focus on minutia, people who have worked with her have said.

Former Yahoo executives say Ms. Mayer isn't afraid to take risks to reach her goals, whether paying a premium for startups or pushing for a "bet-the-company" strategy. That entrepreneurial spirit is admired in Silicon Valley circles, but at Yahoo it backfired as pressure grew to deliver a profit.

--Joann S. Lublin contributed to this article.

Write to Deepa Seetharaman at Deepa.Seetharaman@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 26, 2016 12:49 ET (16:49 GMT)

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