Skip Olinger

Dividends: A Company's Leading Indicator

Well done article. I have a few points to add:
1. Stock buy-backs - these are a tax efficient equivalent of dividends. Many companies that have extra free cash flow will buy back stock instead of paying more dividends. Management wants to show steady increases in dividends and they never want to cut them as they know many widows and orphans depend on the income. So they buy back their own stock. In my opinion this is an invention of the devil. Managements are notoriously over optimistic about the value of their own stock. They will buy back stock to offset the increase in shares from stock options, which hides how much regular shareholders are being diluted. Tech companies like Yahoo horde cash for future growth and acquisitions. That hasn't always been a successful strategy. It's my money, dammit. I'd prefer to pay the taxes and reinvest the money myself.
2. Neither the economy nor companies growth at a steady pace. Therefore how can dividends grow at a steady pace? I think the desire to produce a long track record of steady dividend growth has caused management to underpay dividends. Also there will be periods where companies have great opportunities to make attractive investments and compound capital much faster than an individual can do on his own. In a perfect world it would make sense for a company to reduce or even suspend its dividend rather than pay an investment banker to raise more capital, if it was available. I know this variable dividend policy is unlikely to be enacted by any company but it makes economic sense.