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"In those 20 years [Amazon] has failed to pay a single penny in dividends to stockholders."

That's not very surprising. Public companies typically don't pay out cash dividends if they think they can get better a return for their shareholders by investing that money into growing their business. And for shareholders, getting returns in the form of long-term capital gains instead of dividends generally lowers their tax liability.



Exactly. Execs actually try to avoid giving out dividends these days because:

1) It attracts investors who are looking for a short gain, and not interested in the long-term success of the company

2) It becomes a seasonal expense that investors expect. If dividends stop, it sends a bad signal to the market.




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