Exponential Trend Failure of the Day

Let's start with a chart of corporate dividends divided by corporate profits.


Click to enlarge.

We almost made it to 100% during the great recession. Hurray!

Contrary to the general opinion of the financial media and so-called financial experts, is it any wonder why some companies might hoard some extra corporate cash in case it happens again?

Now let's look at the 10-year moving average to eliminate much of the short-term cyclical noise.


Click to enlarge.

Companies are no longer willing to exponentially grow their dividends relative to their corporate profits? I know. It's all very shocking! Congress must make companies pay more! Pass a law or something!

Perhaps I should summarize without the sarcasm. Stick a fork in it. The unsustainable exponential growth party's over. We may still grow some but in my opinion we will never grow like we once did. Not even close. There are just too many headwinds and at least some of the ponzi-style tailwinds aren't holding up all that well either (as seen in the charts above).

And lastly, my posting frequency has been greatly diminished lately. Sorry about that! I do not believe it is permanent. My latest obsession is learning to play the guitar. I played from 5:30am to 8:00am last night. I was just running scales. I'm definitely not a morning person and man, oh man, are my left hand's fingers sore. :)

See Also:
Sarcasm Disclaimer

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart