Microsoft has no plan to pay dividends
Reuters | at | by Mike
Microsoft's executives said on Tuesday the company had no plans to pay dividends from its $40.5 billion in cash holdings as long as the software giant faced the threat of further litigation. At its annual shareholder's meeting in Bellevue, Washington, stakeholders in the world's largest company had a pointed question for executives: Will Microsoft, which has never paid dividends since going public in 1986, start paying out?
"While the ruling on Friday was a positive, we still face some significant legal issues, and in light of those legal issues to date the board has determined it would not be appropriate to commit to a long-term program like a dividend until that's cleared," Microsoft Chief Financial Officer John Connors told shareholders at the company's annual meeting.