Yes, dividends provide higher levels of exponential growth long term for an otherwise steady state company. It makes them more compelling than many long term investments.

Convert X% of a stocks value into a dividend and you pay taxes on that before you can buy more stock, but someone who keeps buying stock sees an exponential return. (Higher percentage of the company = larger dividends)

A company buys back X% of its stock functions like a dividend w/ stock purchase, but you’re effectively buying more stock without that tax on dividends. Adding a tax on stock buybacks could eliminate such bias, but it’s unlikely to happen any time soon.