In recent years, the rise in cash held by US companies has been dramatic, skyrocketing from $1.6 trillion in 2000 to about $5.8 trillion today. This trend has concerned investors, who would prefer to see the money either put to productive use or returned to them in the form of dividends.
[This article has been republished, with permission, from Kellogg Insight, the faculty research & ideas magazine of Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University]