企业分红能力之理论研究

A Theoretical Study on Firms' Ability to Pay Cash Dividends

本文对企业分红能力进行理论研究。本文首先较为深入地研究了自由现金流之界定与计量问题,并创新性地提出和研究了自由现金和现金增加值的界定与计量问题,然后提出了关于净利润、留存收益和利润分配之本质的新见解。基于自由现金和留存收益概念及其本质理解,本文研究提出,企业分红能力是指,企业股东是否有在正值的留存收益边界内可持续地分走企业自由现金的能力;企业在某个时点具备分红能力的充要条件是企业留存收益为正值的同时还拥有源自自由现金流的自由现金,亦即,企业分红能力受制于源自自由现金流的自由现金和留存收益这双重边界。

The paper theoretically studies firms'ability to pay cash dividends. To provide a basis for the study, I deeply discuss how to define and measure free cash flow, free cash and Cash Value Added (CVA) and analyze the nature of profits, retained earnings and profit distribution. Based on retained earnings and free cash conception, I argue that the ability of one firm to pay cash dividends depends on the condition that the firm has positive retained earnings and free cash(which should arise from free cash flow) at the same time. In other words, the ability of a firm to pay cash dividends has to be confined by positive retained earnings and free cash arising from free cash flow.