[dpcheng2003]

I wonder if there's a lagging indicator of tech bellwether decline in innovation/disruption when they introduce a dividend.

For example, Apple had a dividend in 1995. Then in 1996, Jobs came back and nixed it. Microsoft issued its first dividend in 2003. Cisco in 2011. Oracle in 2009.

As a former ibanker, I should be all for financial engineering. But when companies can do "actual" engineering, I'd prefer to spend money on growth if possible. If not... then, I guess the dividend makes sense, hence my earlier assumption.

[dangoor]

When Jobs came back to Apple, Apple was not in solid financial health. That's not a good time to have a dividend.

If they needed to deploy all of their cash for growth, I'm sure they would. The trouble is that they have so much cash that it's likely not clear how to deploy it in a way that is true to Apple (ie they could buy some big companies or add 100 products to their portfolio, but that's not the way they roll)