Google is currently sitting on $50 billion in cash. Should the company pay a dividend? In this video, Andrew Tonner looks at why he thinks it won't happen. For starters, even though Google can fund much of its research activities with its current cash flow, that $50 billion reserve is a nice backstop. Furthermore, paying a dividend may cause investors to perceive Google less as a cutting-edge growth company and more as a mature tech company. With projections of 20% annual growth for the next several years, that's not a perception Google wants to promote.
In time, Google may grow its bank account to the point where investors insist on a dividend, but Andrew says that time is far in the future.
