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.
A: Whether or not a dividend paid to shareholders affects the issuing company's retained earnings account depends entirely on the type of dividend. While cash dividends have a straightforward effect on retained earnings, the issuance of stock dividends is slightly more complicated.When a company wants to issue dividends to its shareholders but doesn't have excess cash on hand, it may choose to issue a stock dividend.Companies may also choose this option as a means of decreasing the value of existing shares, driving down the price to earnings (P/E) ratio and other important financial metrics.hile a small stock dividend has a greater effect on the retained earnings account, the total worth of the company actually remains unaffected by stock dividends of any size.