Tech Giants: Starting from Bankrupt Companies

365: Chapter 365 Spark Technology Group: Billions in DividendsAnother year passed in the blink of an eye. It was now January 2020. In the early spring of the south, the sky was as blue as if it had been washed clean.

In the press hall of the Spark Technology Group headquarters, the red background wall was emblazoned with golden characters:

”Spark Technology Group 2019 Annual Dividend Press Conference”

Over three hundred reporters were already seated, their cameras and lenses aimed at the podium. In the front row sat shareholder representatives who had rushed from all over the country—gray-haired elders, middle-aged men in suits, and a few young investors. Their faces all bore the same look of anticipation—the kind of expectation that comes with witnessing history.

Su Chen walked onto the podium. Today, he wore a dark gray suit with no tie and his sleeves rolled up. Behind him was a massive electronic screen, which was currently blank.

He stood still, his gaze scanning the audience.

”Everyone, you have already seen Spark Technology Group’s performance for 2019.”

The large screen lit up:

Spark Technology Group 2019 Annual Performance

Revenue: 1.2 trillion rmb

Net Profit: 280 billion rmb

Year-on-Year Growth: 55%

A low murmur of admiration rippled through the audience.

Su Chen paused.

”But what I want to talk about today isn’t the performance.”

He gestured, and the big screen switched:

Spark Technology Group 2019 Annual Dividend Plan

Total Dividend: 40 billion rmb

Total Share Capital: 1.1 billion shares

Dividend Per Share: 36.4 yuan

Dividend Yield: Approximately 4.5% (based on current stock price)

The room instantly exploded.

Reporters scribbled frantically as camera flashes went off like a rainstorm. Shareholder representatives looked at each other in shock; some couldn’t believe their eyes, while others were already calculating how much they would receive.

A reporter stood up directly, his voice carrying uncontrollable excitement:

”President Su, a 40 billion dividend—this is the largest single dividend in the history of the A-share market!”

Su Chen smiled, a look of calm confidence in his expression.

”Correct. It exceeds ICBC’s 30 billion in 2018 and Moutai’s 18 billion in 2019.”

He paused.

”Spark makes money, Spark shares money. It’s that simple.”

The screen switched again, displaying a comparison table:

Top 5 Single Dividends in A-Share History

Spark Technology (2019): 40 billion

ICBC (2018): 30 billion

CCB (2018): 29 billion

ABC (2018): 28 billion

BOC (2018): 27 billion

Thunderous applause erupted from the audience and lasted for a long time.

Inside the Spark Technology Group headquarters building.

On the computer screens of the Finance Department, 50,000 transfer records were completed simultaneously.

Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong—

The notification sounds from mobile banking apps rang out across the entire campus like raindrops. The sound traveled from the R&D center to the production workshops, from the office buildings to the canteen, and from every office to every corner.

The R&D Center, 12th floor.

Old engineer Zhang Jianguo was staring at his computer, modifying code. Fifty-five-year-old Zhang Jianguo was one of Spark’s veterans, having joined when the company had only a few dozen people. His hair had already turned gray, and his face was etched with the marks of time, but his eyes remained focused.

His phone rang.

He picked it up and looked:

”Your account received a deposit of 109,200 rmb on January 20th (Spark Technology 2019 Annual Dividend).”

Zhang Jianguo froze for three seconds.

He held three thousand shares. At thirty-six point four per share.

He slowly took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes.

A young colleague nearby, Xiao Wang, leaned over. Twenty-eight-year-old Xiao Wang was a Tsinghua University graduate who had only been with the company for two years.

”Engineer Zhang, what’s wrong?”

Zhang Jianguo waved his hand. ”It’s nothing, just got some sand in my eyes.”

Xiao Wang glanced at his phone screen, and his eyes widened. ”A 110,000 dividend! Engineer Zhang, you’re rich!”

Zhang Jianguo smiled, a look of relief after a long journey in his eyes. ”Xiao Wang, did you know that three years ago, I almost left Spark?”

Xiao Wang was stunned. ”Why?”

Zhang Jianguo: ”Back then, a foreign firm tried to poach me with an extra 100,000 in annual salary. I hesitated for a long time, but in the end, I didn’t leave.”

He looked out the window, his gaze distant. ”Looking back now, staying was the right choice.”

The canteen, 1:00 PM.

Canteen worker Li Guifang was serving food. Forty-five-year-old Li Guifang was from Sichuan and had worked in the Spark canteen for three years, busy every day from 6:00 AM to 7:00 PM, cooking for thousands of employees.

Her phone rang several times.

The chef nearby, Lao Liu, shouted to her, ”Sister Li, your phone has rung several times!”

Li Guifang wiped her hands and pulled her phone out of her apron pocket.

”Your account received a deposit of 36,400 rmb on January 20th (Spark Technology 2019 Annual Dividend).”

She froze for five seconds.

Then she suddenly laughed, laughing until tears came out.

Lao Liu leaned over:

”What happened? Did you win the lottery?”

Li Guifang shook her head, her voice choking up:

”Dividend! The company dividend! Nearly forty thousand yuan!”

She picked up her phone and called her mother back in her hometown. On the other end, her mother’s aged voice came through: ”Hello, Guifang?”

Li Guifang said loudly, ”Mom! My company gave out dividends! Forty thousand! When I come home for New Year this year, I’ll bring you New Year specialties from Shenzhen!”

On the other end, her mother’s voice also choked up. ”Good, good, my daughter has done well.”

The production line, 2:00 PM.

Zhao Lei, a worker born in the 90s, was scrolling through his phone in the break area. Twenty-six-year-old Zhao Lei came from a rural area in Henan and had come to Shenzhen to work after graduating from high school. He had been on Spark’s production line for four years.

Seeing the text message about the dividend deposit, he suddenly stood up. ”Holy crap!”

The coworkers nearby gathered around. ”What’s wrong?”

Zhao Lei held up his phone. ”Dividends! Forty thousand!”

The coworkers all checked their own phones.

”I got it too!” ”Me too!” ”Forty thousand! My annual salary is only a hundred and twenty thousand!”

The break area instantly turned into a scene of celebration.

Zhao Lei said to his coworkers, ”My parents farm back home and only earn about thirty thousand a year. This one dividend is more than they make in a whole year of work.”

He paused, his eyes gleaming. ”This New Year, I want to take them to Sanya. I’ve never even seen the ocean before.”

The Stock Exchange.

The bell for the afternoon session had just rung, and everyone’s eyes were fixed on the same screen.

Spark Technology’s stock price shot up from the opening price of 7,280 yuan directly to the daily limit of 8,000 yuan.

Increase: Ten percent.

Market Value: 8.8 trillion rmb.

In the trading hall, some people cheered, some slammed their desks, and some jumped up in excitement.

An elderly investor wearing glasses, Lao Chen, looked at the screen, his hands trembling. Sixty-five-year-old Lao Chen had been knocking around the stock market for thirty years; he had bought bull stocks, stepped on landmines, and both made and lost money.

He had bought a thousand shares of Spark Technology at a cost price of 3,000 yuan.

Now the stock price was 8,000 yuan, with a floating profit of five million.

Plus the 36,400 dividend that arrived today.

He said to his old buddy next to him, ”Lao Li, I’ve been trading stocks for thirty years, lost some and won some, but I’ve never received such a large dividend.”

Lao Li laughed. ”Lao Chen, you’re not trading stocks; you’re doing value investing.”

The Guba forum.

A post was pushed to the front page:

《Buying Spark Stock is More Reliable Than Buying the Lottery》

The original poster wrote: ”I’ve owned Spark stock for two years. My cost was 3,500, and now it’s 8,000. Today, a 36,000 dividend arrived. It’s ten thousand times more reliable than buying the lottery.”

The replies flooded in: ”Are you showing off, OP? But I like it.”

”My cost was 4,000, and I’ve made a killing too.”

”Those who didn’t buy are crying in the bathroom.”

”Can I still buy when the market opens tomorrow?”

”Spark is a company that truly treats its shareholders like human beings.”

”My wife made me put all the betrothal money into Spark stock. Now it’s doubled, and my mother-in-law praises me every day.”

The securities branch had already finished work, and the glass doors were locked, but a few investors still hadn’t left the entrance.

They stood in the cold wind, looking at Spark Technology’s closing price on the electronic screen:

8000.00 yuan

The red numbers were particularly striking in the night.

A young man, Liu Lei, pointed at the screen and said to the friend next to him, ”My dad used to trade stocks and lost hundreds of thousands; my mom scolded him every day. Later, I convinced him to buy Spark stock, though he didn’t believe in it at first.”

The friend asked, ”And now?”

Liu Lei smiled, a sense of heartfelt pride in his expression. ”Now he’s the apple of my mother’s eye. He often takes her out to travel. A few days ago, he even said he wanted to treat me to dinner.”

The two laughed heartily, their laughter echoing in the night.

Su Chen reclined in his executive chair, looking at the lights outside the window.

Lin Wan pushed the door open and entered, holding a report. ”President Su, today’s data is out. A forty billion dividend, an average of forty thousand per person for fifty thousand employees, the stock price hit the daily limit, and the market value is 8.8 trillion. The Guba forums have gone crazy.”

Su Chen didn’t look back. ”As expected.”

Lin Wan asked, ”Will we give dividends next year too?”

Su Chen turned around and smiled. ”Yes. As long as the company makes money, we will always give dividends.”

He walked back to the window. ”Spark didn’t grow large by exploiting its employees. It grew large by everyone making money together.”

From the brink of bankruptcy to an eight trillion market value, it took Su Chen five years. The company had crushed many opponents along the way to finally stand at the mountain peak and admire the view.