That depends on whether you're looking for primarily an income or an equity outcome (and yes, both would be nice, but most businesses are far better at focusing

That depends on whether you're looking for primarily an income or an equity outcome (and yes, both would be nice, but most businesses are far better at focusing on and delivering one, not the other). Most traditional blue chips deliver regular, well-sized dividends. Their stock price (and therefore, as an investor, your equity value) will largely move with the markets. You don't buy them for out-performing equity growth or a liquidity event, but rather for the regular profits they share as dividends. FWIW, I think Microsoft has an option to become one of these companies, instead of chasing rapid shareprice growth. The comparison is buying for equity, where you hope to buy low and sell high. Dividends aren't a priority - and since they often amount to cents per share and you're chasing share price growth measured in multiples, dividends are almost irrelevant to your success measurements. As you point out with Google, their share price could already be considered high. I don't know what their dividend plans are for the future, but that (plus growth more in line with the market, maybe a little ahead) is a "tangible value" of holding their shares. jwegan - I know I've probably oversimplified that for you since you have familiarity, but I thought it worth spelling out for other HN readers with less awareness / experience. Hope it didn't seem condescending.