And the value of Fidelity's Apple stock would go down by $2.6 billion. That's not what happened with Microsoft did a one-time dividend of $30bn. On July 19th,

And the value of Fidelity's Apple stock would go down by $2.6 billion. That's not what happened with Microsoft did a one-time dividend of $30bn. On July 19th, 2004, their stock price was 27.94. They announced it on July 20, 2004. The stock closed on 28.86 on July 21. The stock ran up to almost $30, and the day of the dividend dropped to 27.39. On July 19th, their value was $301.7bn On November 15th, it was $297.8bn. (Numbers computed by Wolfram Alpha.. kaching!) Believe it or not, there is value in ongoing dividends that makes "Fidelity's Apple stock would go down by $2.6" incorrect. Income funds, for example, would not buy Apple right now because it's not a "yield" stock. If they pay a dividend, those funds can then buy it under their prospectus. This opens up the overall pool of buyers for the stock and can stabilize and even raise the value over time. (edit: formatting)