Any compensation to their corporate officers is actually a pre-tax expense, so the record profits that are the subject of the article are AFTER these massive compensations to the corporate officers are paid out. Depending on which firm you are discussing, most of the major corporations ARE paying dividends to their shareholders. If not, the earnings retained are reinvested into the firm for the purpoose of generating additional cash flows (returns) which increase the value of the stock so the investors can achieve their returns via capital gains.