Part 4/9:
However, the ambitious merges quickly translated into reality, revealing pitfalls rather than progress. Underwhelming performance soon plagued Oath; by late 2017, quarterly revenues remained considerably behind those of competitors. Hiring cuts became commonplace as Verizon grappled with the stark difference between its aspirations and reality. The disparity was glaring; Oath fell well short of an end-of-year revenue target of $10 billion, missing the mark by an alarming $8.2 billion.