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The evolving relation between earnings, dividends, and stock repurchases

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  • Skinner, Douglas J.
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    Abstract

    This paper examines how the relation between earnings and payout policy has evolved over the last three decades. Three principal groups of payers have emerged: firms that pay dividends and make regular repurchases, firms that make regular repurchases, and firms that make occasional repurchases. Firms that only pay dividends are largely extinct. Repurchases are increasingly used in place of dividends, even for firms that continue to pay dividends. While other factors help explain the timing of repurchases, the overall level of repurchases is fundamentally determined by earnings. The results suggest that repurchases are now the dominant form of payout.

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    Bibliographic Info

    Article provided by Elsevier in its journal Journal of Financial Economics.

    Volume (Year): 87 (2008)
    Issue (Month): 3 (March)
    Pages: 582-609

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    Handle: RePEc:eee:jfinec:v:87:y:2008:i:3:p:582-609

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    Web page: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/505576

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    References

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    1. Fama, Eugene F. & French, Kenneth R., 2001. "Disappearing dividends: changing firm characteristics or lower propensity to pay?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(1), pages 3-43, April.
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      • Allen, Franklin & Michaely, Roni, 2003. "Payout policy," Handbook of the Economics of Finance, in: G.M. Constantinides & M. Harris & R. M. Stulz (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Finance, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 7, pages 337-429 Elsevier.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:
    1. Ken Yook & Partha Gangopadhyay, 2011. "A comprehensive examination of the wealth effects of recent stock repurchase announcements," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 37(4), pages 509-529, November.
    2. A. Mantovi, 2011. "Dividends, sustainability and relevance," Economics Department Working Papers 2011-EP03, Department of Economics, Parma University (Italy).
    3. Christian Andres & André Betzer & Marc Goergen, 2012. "Dividend Policy, Corporate Control and the Tax Status of the Controlling Shareholder," Schumpeter Discussion Papers sdp12006, Universitätsbibliothek Wuppertal, University Library.
    4. Ginglinger, Edith & Megginson, William & Waxin, Timothée, 2011. "Employee ownership, board representation, and corporate financial policies," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(4), pages 868-887, September.
    5. Jain, Bharat A. & Shekhar, Chander & Torbey, Violet, 2009. "Payout initiation by IPO firms: The choice between dividends and share repurchases," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 49(4), pages 1275-1297, November.
    6. Schmid, Thomas & Ampenberger, Markus & Kaserer, Christoph & Achleitner, Ann-Kristin, 2010. "Controlling shareholders and payout policy: do founding families have a special 'taste for dividends'?," CEFS Working Paper Series 2010-01, Center for Entrepreneurial and Financial Studies (CEFS), Technische Universität München.
    7. Huang, Chin-Sheng & You, Chun-Fan & Lin, Szu-Hsien, 2009. "Cash dividends, stock dividends and subsequent earnings growth," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 17(5), pages 594-610, November.
    8. Krieger, Kevin & Lee, Bong-Soo & Mauck, Nathan, 2012. "Do Senior Citizens Prefer Dividends? Local Clienteles vs. Firm Characteristics," MPRA Paper 41784, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Brockman, Paul & Khurana, Inder K. & Martin, Xiumin, 2008. "Voluntary disclosures around share repurchases," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(1), pages 175-191, July.
    10. von Eije, Henk & Megginson, William L., 2008. "Dividends and share repurchases in the European Union," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(2), pages 347-374, August.
    11. Yook, Ken C., 2010. "Long-run stock performance following stock repurchases," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(3), pages 323-331, August.
    12. Jun, Sang-gyung & Jung, Mookwon & Walkling, Ralph A., 2009. "Share repurchase, executive options and wealth changes to stockholders and bondholders," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 212-229, April.
    13. Dittmar, Amy K. & Dittmar, Robert F., 2008. "The timing of financing decisions: An examination of the correlation in financing waves," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(1), pages 59-83, October.
    14. Renneboog, Luc & Trojanowski, Grzegorz, 2011. "Patterns in payout policy and payout channel choice," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(6), pages 1477-1490, June.
    15. Leibrecht, Markus & Bellak, Christian & Wild, Michael, 2009. "Does lowering dividend tax rates increase dividends repatriated?: evidence of intra-firm cross-border dividend repatriation policies by German Multinational Enterprises," Discussion Paper Series 1: Economic Studies 2009,19, Deutsche Bundesbank, Research Centre.
    16. Kellard, Neil M. & Nankervis, John C. & Papadimitriou, Fotios I., 2010. "Predicting the equity premium with dividend ratios: Reconciling the evidence," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(4), pages 539-551, September.
    17. Lally, Martin, 2011. "Optimal dividend policy, debt policy and the level of investment within a multi-period DCF framework," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 21-40, January.
    18. Haw, In-Mu & Ho, Simon S.M. & Hu, Bingbing & Zhang, Xu, 2011. "The contribution of stock repurchases to the value of the firm and cash holdings around the world," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 152-166, February.

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