Mr. Dell, It's Time For A Dividend

Cisco just reported its first quarter earnings and we're covering it live. Earnings per share came in at 53 cents. That's a beat. Revenue at $12.1 billion. That's a miss. Analysts expected a good quarter: 51 cents EPS on $12.35 billion in revenue (up from 48 cents EPS on $11.88 billion), according to Yahoo Finance.

Intel just announced earnings early. Click here for LIVE updates >

By Jeremy Schwartz: By Jeremy Schwartz, CFA, Director of Research, WisdomTree & Christopher Gannatti, Research Analyst, WisdomTree Traditional Views on Dividends-Challenged

By Zvi Bar:Though investors are aware all equities carry risk, many people crave the security of a large corporation. Individuals perceive that established giant businesses are less likely to completely fail, though they may, and that the management will concentrate on long-term existence and continued growth.

By Zvi Bar:Though investors are aware all equities carry risk, many people crave the security of a large corporation. Individuals perceive that established giant businesses are less likely to completely fail, though they may, and that the management will concentrate on long-term existence and continued growth.Additionally, many individuals are now seeking out higher yielding investments.

Microsoft this afternoon reported Q3 results that were about in line with Street estimates. Revenue was $17.37 billion, a hair ahead of the Street at $17.25 billion. Profits of 68 cents a share were right in line with the Street consensus. Revenues were up 7% from a year ago. ?We saw customer demand across the ...

Research Recap submits: More technology companies are paying dividends and increasing dividend payments. But Moody’s does not expect those increases to affect company ratings because by and large, the percentage of discretionary cash flow (cash flow from operations less capital expenditures) paid in the form of dividends has remained flat, at about 20%, over the last five years as companies’ cash flow has also grown.