The internet firm reported income of $542.2m (£271.5m) compared with $142.4m in the same period a year earlier.
Yahoo is seeking to prove it is worth more than Microsoft’s unsolicited $44.6bn (£22.3bn) offer.
But despite beating forecasts, Yahoo’s performance did not convince analysts that the firm merited a better bid.
“This is better than (Wall) Street was expecting. This might pose some issues for Microsoft,” said Jeffrey Lindsay, analyst at Sanford C Bernstein & Co.
“It’s less likely Microsoft would succeed with a lower bid. They wouldn’t be able to reduce their price.”
Yahoo’s profits were helped by a $401m gain from the sale of a stake in Chinese internet company Alibaba.com.
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