/biz/ - Business & Finance

>>26978984
In a sane market, stocks would be tethered to their earnings and valuations by their distributions and dividends. Company does well, makes profit, distributes profit to their shareholders. While you can speculate stupidly on the price, the dividends would be a tether to the real output of the company. Without that a stock is no different than a cryptocoin, worth whatever people say it's worth and that's it. With dividends, it's still what people say its worth, but you know there's a return on the company's health. Everyone could sell and leave you holding bags but if the company is still doing fine and paying you nice amounts, who gives a shit?

The thing is the market is always disjoined from reality because of speculation but it really went off the rails with the pandemic. Practically every stock slashed their dividends to nothing to help their cash flow meet all the debts they were incurring. It basically has made the entire stock market as stupid and speculative as the crypto market and it's getting proven here: GME is making people fucking rich just on rampant artificial speculation (that and the squeeze). Ticket symbols are just a different kind of coin now.