--%>

Effect of illegal obligations on cost of equity

If dividends paid to common stockholders are not legal obligations of a corporation, is the cost of equity zero?  Describe your answer.

Even though common stockholders do not contain a contractual claim on dividends the funds supplied by stockholders definitely contain a cost.  Equity investors are paid last and therefore they are taking the greatest risk among all of the suppliers of capital.  If the company does not get a higher rate of return onto equity funds to compensate for the higher risk taken through equity investors, the price of the stock will fall and thus the value of the firm. 

   Related Questions in Managerial Accounting

  • Q : Explain Cash Management Cash Management

    Cash Management: Cash Management is the management of cash balances of a concern in such a way as to maximize the accessibility of cash not invested in inventories or fixed assets and to ignore the risk of insolvency. According to Keynes there are thr

  • Q : Define Profit or Loss Analysis Profit

    Profit or Loss (P&L) Analysis: A financial statement which summarizes the revenues, costs and expenses acquired during a particular period of time - in general a fiscal quarter or year. Such records give information which exhibits the capability o

  • Q : Define Inter-Entity Inter-Entity : A

    Inter-Entity: A term meaning between or among distinct federal reporting entities. It generally refers to the activities or costs among two or more agencies, bureaus or departments.

  • Q : Define Employee Stock Ownership

    Employee Stock Ownership: It is a qualified, defined contribution, employee benefit (that is, ERISA) plan designed to invest mainly in the stock of sponsoring employer. ESOPs are "qualified" in the logic that the ESOP's sponsoring company, the selling

  • Q : Things which Weaknesses comprises Write

    Write a brief note on the things which Weaknesses comprises?

  • Q : Define Responsibility Center

    Responsibility Center: It is an organizational unit headed by the manager or a group of managers who are responsible for its actions. The responsibility centers can be measured as revenue centers (that is responsible for revenue or sa

  • Q : Operation of business

    What are the main reasons that the operation of business environment has become ever more turbulent and competitive?

  • Q : Cash coverage of growth A financial

    A financial analysis tools that measures the need for financing. The formula is the cash-flow from operating activities divided by the cash paid for long-term asset. Cash paid for long-term assets can be found on the statement of cash-flow, in the investing-activities