Published in Journal of Applied Corporate Finance Vol. 24 Issue 3 (Summer 2012):
According to conventional wisdom, the most likely payers of dividends are large, “mature” companies whose operations generate far more cash flow than they can profitably reinvest in their core businesses. That description applies to many so-called“value” companies—companies that are generally identified by their relatively low growth rates and P/E multiples. But in recent years, the ranks of high-dividend-paying companies have expanded to include a number of high-tech giants such as Microsoft (MSFT), IBM, and, most recently, Apple—companies that, at least until fairly recently, have all been viewed as “growth” companies…