Final answer:
Equity shareholders' return consists of dividend and capital gain. Dividend is the direct payment to shareholders from a firm's profit, while capital gain is the increase in the value of an asset between purchase and sale.
Step-by-step explanation:
Equity shareholders' return consists of two components: dividend and capital gain.
The dividend decision is concerned with deciding whether to distribute the net profit to shareholders as dividends or to retain it in the business. A dividend is a direct payment from a firm to its shareholders, which is a portion of its profit.
On the other hand, capital gain refers to the increase in the value of a stock, or any asset, between when it is bought and when it is sold. When an investor buys a share of stock and later sells it at a higher price, the difference between the purchase price and the sale price is the capital gain.