Income from dividends is taxed at a higher rate than income from capital gains. Therefore, if you're investing in a company and you're not doing it through a retirement plan or a similar tax-sheltered fund, you might rather see profits reinvested in the company and returned to you in the form of a higher stock value than simply given out to you in the form of a dividend.

(I think this tax policy is... unwise, but that's a debate for another time.)