Dividends allow you to obtain money from the business without giving up control. Small distinction, and only really relevant to those with large holdings.
Maybe I missed something but both of those involved giving up some control?
If I issue new shares and sell them, that is diluting my voting rights.
If I sell some of my existing shares, that is diluting my voting rights.
What have I missed?
Just to re-iterate, this is from the perspective of a shareholder wanting to bring some cash back to my personal bank account. Not trying to add more funds to the business (which a dividend is the opposite of).
Totally depends on your use case. If you want regular passive income from your investment, it's much simpler to get dividends then to regularly sell small amounts of it.
Dividends as a concept are excellent, because they allow generating income on an appreciating asset.
But I've seen exactly none that beats the S&P 500 on a long timescale, even with dividends reinvested.
Nonsense. The business can choose to issue new shares whenever it pleases. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Follow-on_offering