Photograph licensed exclusively by TIME Magazine. The case of the disappearing dividend isn't hard to solve. As share prices have soared in recent years, dividends have come to be regarded as only slightly more relevant than the gushing palaver in an annual report. A Florida power company, FPL Group, was the first healthy utility to take the step, in 1994. Its stock too has dazzled.
Utilities are being deregulated, so they have an unusual reason to change policy and hoard cash.
But the day is fast approaching when all kinds of thriving companies will ditch their dividends and use the savings to buy back stock to boost their share price. Specialty toolmaker SPX Corp., in Muskegon, Mich., made the move last April. Lo and behold, the stock has been rising twice as fast as the Dow. Look for some blue-chip companies to step up next. Among the giants, companies like Wal-Mart, Disney and Home Depot are good candidates.