We show that while firms that typically pay dividends already have high ratios of retained-earnings-to-total-equity (RE/TE) and high propensities to pay (PTP) early on, firms that typically do not pay dividends have persistently low RE/TE and low PTP even after 20 years of growth. This...

We identify a firm's growth type by its valuation volatility which proxies for the extent to which asymmetric information arises from growth opportunities rather than from assets-in-place. We show that firm investment style (measured by R&D/[Capex R&D]) is persistent and positively aligned with...