I've always felt that a company should either do one of two things... pay out dividends, or re-invest and grow... Amazon is a model company in that regard. Companies that sit on funds, shift them to other countries, and the like are bad actors, they don't serve the public or their investors.<p>A growing/spending company improves society and investors are rewarded with more valuable stock. A divident paying company rewards investment directly, and allows for that capital to be re-invested or otherwise spent. Corporations sitting on funds serves nobody. As it is, Amazon does the former... which grows the company and increases stock value over time. It's a strategic methodology for the long term health of the company.<p>I always get a little irked when I see suggestions that they should be doing XYZ to maximize shareholder profits in the near term... that's stupid for any large company that wants to stick around.