HOUSTON - The oldest surviving artificial Earth satellite, Vanguard 1, turned 50 years old on Monday â and continued to turn in its orbit, just as it has done since its launch at the dawn of the Space Age. The craft is in a high orbit that promises to be stable for centuries.
Companies use dividends to pass on their profits directly to their shareholders. Most often, the dividend comes in the form of cash: a company will pay a small percentage of its profits to the owner of each share of stock. However, it is not unheard of for companies to pay dividends in the form of stock.
BREAKING DOWN 'Dividend'. The dividend rate may be quoted in terms of the dollar amount each share receives (dividends per share, or DPS), or It can also be quoted in terms of a percent of the current market price, which is referred to as the dividend yield. company's net profits can be allocated to shareholders via a dividend, or kept within the company as retained earnings. A company may also choose to use net profits to repurchase their own shares in the open markets in a share buyback.