Dividends don't actually change the picture much. In the past five years (02/03/2005 through 02/03/2010), total shareholder return (including dividends) for AAPL was 412% whereas MSFT only returned 19%.
Well AAPL and MSFT are two different ball games. AAPL hit the jackpot with iPhone, post iPhone Apple has been a second coming of Apple, its no longer the same company for investors.
For investors, due to consistent profitability and revenues, MSFT is a safer bet than Apple which reflects in the returns.
"AAPL hit the jackpot with iPhone, post iPhone Apple has been a second coming of Apple"
And before the iPhone, AAPL hit the jackpot with the iPod, post iPod Apple has been a second coming of Apple. And before the iPod, AAPL hit the jackpot with the iMac, post iMac Apple has been a second coming of Apple.
