Why do companies pay dividends instead of reinvesting?
Typically, companies that have consistently paid dividends are some of the most stable companies over the past several decades. As a result, a company that pays out a dividend attracts investors and creates demand for their stock. Dividends are also attractive for investors looking to generate income.
Since the size of a dividend payout is smaller, compared to a buyback, it allows the company to maintain a conservative capitalization structure every quarter rather than just hold large piles of cash.
Companies pay dividends for a variety of reasons, most often to show their financial stability and to keep or attract investors. Not all stocks pay dividends — in fact, most do not. Some major S&P 500 companies, including Amazon and Alphabet, have never issued dividends.
Critical to the long-term strategy known as dividend-growth investing, dividend reinvestment can help enhance your investment returns, build wealth over time and, with persistence and patience, generate a source of income.
However, they typically offer lower returns than stocks. Dividend-paying stocks have the potential for income through dividends and capital appreciation, but they come with higher volatility and market risk. The choice between the two depends on your risk tolerance, investment goals, and time horizon.
Dividends increase the value of shares to some investors, but buybacks tend to drive faster price increases.
With a buyback, the company can increase earnings per share, all else equal. The same earnings pie cut into fewer slices is worth a greater share of the earnings. By reducing share count, buybacks increase the stock's potential upside for shareholders who want to remain owners.
Company | Dividend Yield |
---|---|
Franklin BSP Realty Trust Inc. (FBRT) | 11.60% |
Angel Oak Mortgage REIT Inc (AOMR) | 11.58% |
Altria Group Inc. (MO) | 9.79% |
Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. (WASH) | 9.16% |
A company's board of directors is responsible for its dividend policy and determining the size of a dividend payment. Depending on a company's growth goals, earnings and cash flows, its industry, and other factors, the board will determine an appropriate (if any) dividend payment.
Companies that don't pay dividends on stocks are typically reinvesting the money that might otherwise go to dividend payments into the expansion and overall growth of the company. This means that, over time, their share prices are likely to appreciate in value.
Should a company pay dividends or reinvest?
A company with high ROIC and high growth potential should reinvest more of its earnings to take advantage of its reinvestment opportunities, while a company with low ROIC and low growth potential should pay more dividends to its shareholders.
- High-yield savings accounts.
- Money market funds.
- Short-term certificates of deposit.
- Series I savings bonds.
- Treasury bills, notes, bonds and TIPS.
- Corporate bonds.
- Dividend-paying stocks.
- Preferred stocks.
Does Amazon distribute dividends? We have never declared or paid cash dividends on our common stock.
Another potential downside of investing primarily for dividends is the chance for a disconnect between the business growth of a company and the amount of dividends the company pays. Common stocks are not required to pay dividends. A company can cut its dividend at any time.
Dividends are never guaranteed. Companies can suspend or reduce dividends if they begin to experience financial woes — which can put those who are dependent on that income in a financial bind. Non-dividend-paying stocks typically reinvest their earnings back into the business to fuel growth.
What Is a Good Dividend Yield? Yields from 2% to 6% are generally considered to be a good dividend yield, but there are plenty of factors to consider when deciding if a stock's yield makes it a good investment. Your own investment goals should also play a big role in deciding what a good dividend yield is for you.
Buybacks can also backfire for a company competing in a high-growth industry because they may be read as an admission that the company has few important new opportunities on which to otherwise spend its money. In such cases, long-term investors will respond to a buyback announcement by selling the company's shares.
Buybacks, in particular, are thought to enrich executives and shareholders at the expense of regular employees. In fact, there is little reason to believe that these payouts have much effect on overall income inequality, although it is true that executives sometimes use repurchases to improperly benefit themselves.
If your company pays out a dividend, shareholders retain their shares and receive cash. If your company repurchases shares, the selling shareholders receive cash, and the remaining shareholders have shares with higher value (but they don't receive any cash).
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), and Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) are some of the best dividend stocks with the biggest buyback programs.
Which companies do the most buybacks?
Company | Symbol | YTD % ch. |
---|---|---|
Exxon Mobil | (XOM) | 12.2% |
Microsoft | (MSFT) | 11.4% |
Visa | (V) | 9.8% |
Comcast | (CMCSA) | -1.9% |
The Coca-Cola Company's ( KO ) dividend yield is 3.22%, which means that for every $100 invested in the company's stock, investors would receive $3.22 in dividends per year. The Coca-Cola Company's payout ratio is 74.22% which means that 74.22% of the company's earnings are paid out as dividends.
Dividend Stock | Current Dividend Yield* | Analysts' Implied Upside* |
---|---|---|
Home Depot Inc. (HD) | 2.5% | 10.5% |
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) | 2.4% | 15.4% |
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) | 3.1% | 25.3% |
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) | 2.4% | 10.6% |
A Dividend King is a publicly traded company that has both paid and increased a regular dividend every year for at least 50 consecutive years.
- Cash dividends. These are the most common types of dividends and are paid out by transferring a cash amount to the shareholders. ...
- Stock dividends. ...
- Scrip dividends. ...
- Property dividends. ...
- Liquidating dividends.