I think Occam's razor applies here: It's not that management teams have big plans for the money, or that they "believe that something big is coming, but... the

I think Occam's razor applies here: It's not that management teams have big plans for the money, or that they "believe that something big is coming, but... they’re not sure what it will be". It's that they don't know what to do with the money and there isn't much pressure to disburse it. Cash hordes are reflected in the share price, so investors can monetize the cash by selling a few shares. If you're a "buy and hold" investor you don't want a dividend because that's a taxable event.