Why? The only way you'll get that return is if you sell your stock today. That destroys any chance for you to earn future value from the performance of the company.

Dividends are the better way companies return value to their shareholders, not encouraging them to engage in "flipping" which is not sustainable for long-term value.

http://money.cnn.com/2011/09/15/technology/thebuzz/index.htm

Not necessarily. Paying dividends forces everyone to "sell" whether they want to or not, and the only way to stay on the ride is to accept the taxes you have to pay and then buy back in. When the company reinvests (and/or buys back stock), your money grows tax-free.

A split would be nice, though.

> A split would be nice, though.

Why? One $100 share versus one hundred $1 shares is functionally the same thing.

You can sell just part of your holdings when you have 100 * $1.

Even at $450/share it seems a little silly to sell them one at a time.

> The only way you'll get that return is if you sell your stock today.

Or, they can continue to use their pile of cash to be able to make good strategic decisions and continue doubling my share value every few years.