Final answer:
Payments made to shareholders from a firm's earnings are called dividends, which are distributed as either cash or additional stock. Capital gains represent the profit made when an asset is sold for more than its purchase price. Interest and salaries are not related to shareholder payments.
Step-by-step explanation:
Payments made out of a firm's earnings to its owners in the form of cash or stock are called dividends. In the context of investing, these are payments made by a corporation to its shareholder members, usually derived from profits. When a company earns a profit, it can either reinvest it into the business or distribute it to its shareholders in the form of dividends.
A capital gain is the increase in value of a stock or asset between the time it is bought and when it is sold. For example, buying a share of stock for $45 and selling it later for $60 represents a capital gain of $15. This is a different form of return on investment compared to dividends.
Interest and salaries, on the other hand, are not the correct terms associated with payments made to owners or shareholders. Interest is typically associated with the cost of borrowing money, and salaries are wages paid to employees for their labor.