Sure, Verizon blew $4.6 billion on AOL and Yahoo, but at least it isn't AT&T [telecom]

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• Verizon wrote off .6 billion from its AOL and Yahoo acquisitions, an admission that Oath hasn't succeeded within the broader company.

• Verizon had received criticism at the time that it was too cautious around media, but staying away from big deals may have been the right move for the company.

By Alex Sherman

Sometimes the scope of the strikeout matters.

When Verizon acquired Yahoo for $4.8 billion in 2016 after spending $4.4 billion for AOL a year earlier, investors and analysts were skeptical. It turns out they were right to be. Verizon announced Tuesday it was writing off $4.6 billion from those two deals, erasing nearly half of the companies' combined value.

At the time, Verizon weathered criticism about not only buying past-the-prime assets but also being too cautious with its acquisition strategy. Its primary competitor, AT&T, had just agreed to spend $133.5 billion ($175 billion with debt) on DirecTV and Time Warner, firmly planting its media flag. Yahoo and AOL seemed like a meek response.