@confused AC

Are you one of those people who feels the need to explain to all and sundry that "PROFIT is the difference between INCOME and EXPENSE", in order to prove that you are channelling the ghost of Adam Smith?

Dividends are not the reason people invest in the stock market. What you are doing is loaning your capital to a company on the basis that the company will use that capital to grow and therefore increase the value of your shares. Of course it is a bet. You are betting that the company is competent enough to grow. Look at a 5-year chart of IBM's performance. If you had been smart enough to buy IBM shares in 2005 when they were around $75 (as I did), and then you sold them a couple of months ago when they were around $120 (as I did), then you wouldn't give a damn how much the dividends were.

Seriously, dude, there are books out there that tell you how to do this.