Verizon in focus as former AOL chief Armstrong confirms exit

Tim Armstrong is leaving Oath, the Verizon (VZ) unit that encompasses both Yahoo and AOL, the company confirmed on Wednesday. He will be succeeded by Oath's chief operating officer K. Guru Gowrappan, who joined earlier this year from Alibaba (BABA). ARMSTRONG OUT: Tim Armstrong, the founder of Oath, is leaving the company at the end of the year, confirming reports last week that said Armstrong was in talks to depart. Armstrong came to Verizon in 2015 as part of the company's acquisition of AOL, where he had served as CEO. Verizon later acquired Yahoo and combined it with AOL into a new unit called Oath. Armstrong had attempted to build a digital advertising business to compete with Google (GOOG, GOOGL) and Facebook (FB), but the efforts so far have failed to generate much growth. According to a recent Wall Street Journal report, Verizon recently discussed whether to spin off the Oath business, but instead decided to integrate the unit more fully with the rest of the company's operations. Armstrong had pushed Verizon in recent months to better use its retail stores to promote Oath's services such as the ability to watch NFL football games on Yahoo Sports, sources said. GOWRAPPAN IN: K. Guru Gowrappan, who has been president and chief operating officer of Oath since April, will take over as CEO on October 1, with Armstrong remaining an adviser until the end of the year. "Guru has proven experience in scaling businesses globally. I'm thrilled he will lead Oath in an exciting new phase of growth, building on the foundation Tim and his team have created," Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg said in a statement." WHAT'S NOTABLE: This summer, Lowell McAdam stepped down as CEO of Verizon and was succeeded by Vestberg, the telecom company's chief technology officer and EVP and president of global networks. According to reports, by selecting Vestberg as CEO, Verizon's board signalled that it is continuing to focus on investments in wireless networks and technology, including building out a nationwide 5G broadband network, rather than media. PRICE ACTION: Verizon is fractionally lower in pre-market trading.