As we mentioned in Chapter 3, until the early 1980s less than 10 percent of distributions to shareholders were share repurchases. Now, about 50 to 60 percent of total distributions are share repurchases. Why the shift? It's primarily about flexibility. Companies, especially in the United States, have conditioned investors to expect that they will cut dividends only in the most dire circumstances. From 2004 to 2008, only five percent of U.S.-listed companies with revenues greater than $500 million cut their dividend, and in almost every case the company faced a severe financial crisis. So
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