Investing in dividend vs. non-dividend stocks – efficiency assessment using fractal measures

Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to reveal potential differences in risk and profitability of investment in dividend and non-dividend stocks. Design/methodology/approach: The scientific aim of the paper is achieved by conducting a scrupulous literature analysis. Moreover, the authors use methods of comparative analysis to investigate the characteristics of dividend and non-dividend stocks and reveal similarities and differences. Study of fractal features of chosen stocks and comparisons between abovementioned groups of shares are conducted using the ANOVA methods. Findings: The results of the empirical analyses conducted in this paper prove that dividends paid by US dividend companies grow at significantly lower rate than dividends distributed by Polish dividend stocks. Additionally, rates of return on Polish dividend stocks are more heavily influenced by dividend pay-outs than rates of return on US ones. Taking into account riskiness of investments there are no differences in risk level between dividend and non-dividend stocks in USA and Poland, independently whether the risk measure exploited is stock volatility or its fractal dimension. Research limitations/implications: The research was based on limited number of companies analyzed. As a result, there could be present a bias introduced by the deterministic method of choosing a sample of stocks. It is recommended to enlarge the analyzed set in future research. Practical implications: Knowledge about similarities and differences among dividend and non-dividend companies is highly relevant to investors as well as corporate managements. As a consequence, better financial decisions could be taken leading to increased final wealth. Social implications: Among the social implications of the paper the possible change in investors’ attitude towards dividend and non-dividend companies seems most important. This could influence companies’ boards to adjust their payout policies to satisfy the investors. Finally, the improvement in investor’s needs fulfillment can be achieved. Originality/value: The novelty of the paper is the comparison of dividend and non-dividend stocks taking into account classical and modern risk measures. Moreover, it compares the efficiency of investing in dividend and non-dividend stocks during period 2015-2021, i.e. partially catching the effect of SARS-CoV-2 pandemic filling a gap in our knowledge.