Trent’s Dividend Dilemma: What If it Reinvested Instead?

Trent has a long history of rewarding shareholders with steady dividends. But what if, instead of consistently paying out dividends, the company had reinvested those funds or used them to pay down debt ? The attached table shows how each strategy could have impacted shareholder value by FY25—revealing the compounding magic of reinvestment versus the steady path of dividends and the safety of debt reduction. Key insight: By simply reinvesting dividends, Trent’s shareholders gained ₹644 Cr more in equity by FY25—a testament to compounding in action. What About Return on Equity (ROE)? Both the actual scenario and the reinvestment scenario delivered a stellar ROE of 28.3% by FY25 . But—and this is crucial—while every rupee was earning at the same efficiency, there were more rupees working for shareholders when dividends were retained and reinvested. Debt reduction via dividends protected the balance sheet but didn’t move the value needle as much. Hi...