hello all,
i've been following along, reading your thoughts on dividend paying stocks, and more specifically, msft.
then i came across the following article on zero hedge and thought i would share, as it pertains to the discussion. i would be interested in your thoughts on this article as i have no experience in dividend paying stocks and no insights into the opinions expressed in the article.
sorry for the wall of print...and there's more at the link, this is just the intro.
zerohedge.com
Why Massive Offshore Cash Parking Means Companies Have Access To Only A Fraction Of The Record Cash Stash
Yesterday's Microsoft issuance of $4.75 billion in new debt, of which the 3 Year maturity portion priced at the lowest yield ever for a corporate bond of 0.875%, came at the pristine, and much discredited AAA rating. Yet what this little experiment revealed, in addition to confirming that the corporate bond bubble has never been greater, is that the cash on the sidelines argument used by every single permabull on CNBC is sorely lacking in some factual details. Namely, that a dollar at home is worth more than a dollar abroad, as BofA's Hans Mikkelsen puts it succinctly. Let's back up for a second: the primary reason why investors are funneling their capital in droves in tech and other companies that have key foreign operations is precisely due to the fact that while their domestic subsidiaries may be expiring, it is the foreign subs that are generating the bulk of the revenue, profit and thus, cash. Yet what very few have considered, is that repatriating his cash to the good old USA would cost companies hundreds of billions in US corporate taxes. That's right: even though companies are taxed abroad, the issue of double taxation is resolved by subtracting foreign taxes paid from the US tax liability. However, because foreign corporate taxes are typically lower there is an adverse tax consequence associated with remittance to the parent company. In other words, of the $1.2 or however many trillions in total corporate cash on balance sheets, a good 30% chunk of this belongs to Uncle Sam if these companies wish to use it for domestic IRR purposes. And yes, just so there is no confusion: using foreign cash to pay dividends or share repurchases is considered repatriation from the perspective of US tax regulations. Enter Microsoft: most of its cash resides abroad and is essentially useless for dividend purposes, unless the company wishes to see its net cash position cut substantially upon repatriation. Yet with everyone now clamoring for increased dividends and stock buybacks, the company is forced to access domestic capital markets and use that money for shareholder friendly activities. This is a capital mismatch fiasco just waiting to happen. The only possible winner out of this - Uncle Sam, who may soon order foreign cash to be repatriated over corporate pleas otherwise. |
