>why stocks can have any value without paying dividends.
Well, if a company was never going to issue dividends at any time in the future, or do dividend-alternatives like buybacks or a liquidation at the end of its life (not a normal option), or anything else, its shares would be worthless. I could actually imagine a tech company going out of business before its first dividend.
Many have gone bankrupt without any form of dividend. Many others have gone on for years reinvesting in the business before doing a dividend. (I'm counting as buy-back as a dividend - with modern tax code it is currently a better way to do them)
Yes, but everyone is aware of this. Nobody talks about cryptocurrencies "going out of business", even though this is a thing that happens all the time.
Well, if a company was never going to issue dividends at any time in the future, or do dividend-alternatives like buybacks or a liquidation at the end of its life (not a normal option), or anything else, its shares would be worthless. I could actually imagine a tech company going out of business before its first dividend.