Cash Piles at American Companies Are Shrinking
- Disappearing profits limit companies’ ability to cover debt
- Dividend growth and plans for new repurchases stall in 2016
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Little by little, the corporate cushion is shrinking.
Pressured by a year-and-a-half of weakening profits and splurges on buybacks and dividends, the once-towering piles of money at American companies have started to topple. Cash and equivalents slipped to a median $860 million at S&P 500 Index members last quarter, touching levels not seen for three years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.