[jacques_chester]

I believe the business term is worrying about a "lazy balance sheet". You want every dollar working its bum off, not lazing around in a bank.

This is usually an argument for taking on debt to finance new projects.

That said, the complicated way capital gains and income tax interact in the USA mean that lots of investors prefer share prices to rise to any dividend; so when there's nothing to spend cash on, it just piles up.

Compare Australia, where franking credits mean that major companies regularly pay dividends. It's a different kind of complication, but I think on balance it's the better outcome.