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Why Are Corporate Payouts So High in the 2000s?

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  • Kathleen Kahle
  • René M. Stulz

Abstract

The average annual inflation-adjusted amount paid out through dividends and repurchases by public industrial firms is more than three times larger from 2000 to 2019 than from 1971 to 1999. We find that an increase in aggregate corporate income accounts for 37% of the increase in aggregate annual payouts and an increase in the payout rate accounts for 63%. Firms have higher payout rates in the 2000s not only because they are older, larger, and have more free cash flow, but also because they pay out more of their free cash flow. Though firms spend less on capital expenditures in the 2000s than before, capital expenditures decrease similarly for the firms with payouts and for firms without.

Suggested Citation

  • Kathleen Kahle & René M. Stulz, 2020. "Why Are Corporate Payouts So High in the 2000s?," NBER Working Papers 26958, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:26958
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Viral V. Acharya & Guillaume Plantin, 2019. "Monetary Easing, Leveraged Payouts and Lack of Investment," NBER Working Papers 26471, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Rüdiger Fahlenbrach & Kevin Rageth & René M Stulz, 2021. "How Valuable Is Financial Flexibility when Revenue Stops? Evidence from the COVID-19 Crisis [The risk of being a fallen angel and the corporate dash for cash in the midst of COVID]," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 34(11), pages 5474-5521.
    3. Sirio Aramonte, 2020. "Mind the buybacks, beware of the leverage," BIS Quarterly Review, Bank for International Settlements, September.

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    JEL classification:

    • G35 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Payout Policy

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