Companies, in general, pay dividends when they have cash that they do not have a productive use for. It doesn't make sense for a company to keep too much cash i

Companies, in general, pay dividends when they have cash that they do not have a productive use for. It doesn't make sense for a company to keep too much cash invested in a low return investment (like a bank account or short term treasuries) so in this case the company gives it back to the owners so that they can use the money more productively. Interestingly enough this generalization is contradicted by several large US tech companies who have accumulated unprecedented cash hordes. It's interesting to think about why this might be happening.