Ever since Microsoft announced plans to purchase Yahoo!, I’ve had the same conversation with dozens of reporters about whether Yahoo! is trying to get a higher price. It’s a ludicrous effort, but there are many within the financial community who want to net everything out to price. They say that Yahoo! just wants more money.

I’ll propose a different story. Suppose you and your spouse/partner/friend find that perfect fixer-upper of a house. It’s been neglected for several years, but you buy it anyway. You hire an architect, a project manager and a contractor to make it all happen.

And just when you’ve gutted the house, someone shows up an offers you a few dollars for the whole thing. They point to the bare stud walls and missing plumbing. There’s a pile of trash in the front yard. The unwanted buyer points to all these things and suggests that it isn’t worth that much but that they’ll pay you a premium anyway.

But your goal is to live in the house when it’s done. It’s to wake up in the master bedroom and to have coffee in the breakfast nook.

That’s the fundamental difference between Yahoo! and Microsoft. Yahoo! wants to run the company they’re in the process of re-building. Their goal isn’t to sell out today.

And let’s remind everyone that Yahoo! continues to make money. Lots of money.

So this is now just a battle of the wills.

And Yahoo!’s financials are out. They pretty much speak for themselves.

Guess the renovation is going as planned. On time and on budget.