people should look at dividends rather than anything else; but the people who matter at these scales are just dick measuring and don't care about anything to do with the actual economics of the system.
It's more tax efficient for investors to sell stock than receive dividends. A myopic focus on dividends is economically illiterate.
Plus a good business can often get better returns by reinvesting profits than its investors are likely to get on their own. Investors always have the option to sell shares when they think that's not the case.
Yesyes, not funding a better society is myopic. We should totally expect the rich to be altruistic once they have enough cash.