I wonder if there's a lagging indicator of tech bellwether decline in innovation/disruption when they introduce a dividend.

For example, Apple had a dividend in 1995. Then in 1996, Jobs came back and nixed it. Microsoft issued its first dividend in 2003. Cisco in 2011. Oracle in 2009.

As a former ibanker, I should be all for financial engineering. But when companies can do "actual" engineering, I'd prefer to spend money on growth if possible. If not... then, I guess the dividend makes sense, hence my earlier assumption.