They bought the stock on the principle that it was going to pay a consistent 5% dividend every year and weren't looking for moonshots at the cost of that consistent revenue.
Yeah, just look into any investment thread on HN to see how shareholders thinks, nobody recommend investing in unconventional things. Shareholders are your everyday guy who decides where to put his pension, and that guy picks the safe bet with good returns.
Why the fuck are shareholders often so short-sighted?
Or do they just genuinely think the R&D investment won't pay off?