To me this discussion is groundless since there is a generally misunderstanding of how markets work. There is no need at all to pay out dividends, since based on years of academic research, the stock price should already reflect that in its value. Why else do you think a company has a stock price? Because we're betting on the amount another seller will sell it for (eg. orginal bitshares molymorphic digital asset). No. its because shareholders have a stake of the profits from dividends. Therefore the price reflects dividends. This is the onereason why molymorphic digital assets did not work-- since there was no stake in profits, no causal relationship to the companies financial performance, the system was pegging based on inferences of what other people would buy or sell based on the agreement of name and what the asset possibly represents.
The dividend discount model (DDM) is a method of valuing a company's stock price based on the theory that its stock is worth the sum of all of its future dividend payments, discounted back to their present value.[1] In other words, it is used to value stocks based on the net present value of the future dividends. The equation most widely used is called the Gordon growth model. It is named after Myron J. Gordon of the University of Toronto, who originally published it along with Eli Shapiro in 1956 and made reference to it in 1959.[2][3] Their work borrowed heavily from the theoretical and mathematical ideas found in John Burr Williams 1938 book "The Theory of Investment Value."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dividend_discount_model
Ya we know this.
But if you discounting future dividends you need to get those dividends.
If you dont get those dividends you cant discount it.
Its like saying you should value a goose that represents a gold-egg-laying-goose at the same value given to a gold-egg-laying-goose even if your goose doesnt lay any golden eggs.
I would personally pay more for a goose that lays golden eggs than for one that does not.
So MPA should trade at a discount to actual stock price.
MPA value = real world stock price - discounted future dividends
The issue is that when you use the perpetuity model for stock valuation you end up with a zero value for dividend paying stocks if you remove the dividends.
But then again, models are always a bit funny.