Some companies have an explicit goal to share a target percentage of profits with their shareholders; the folks who own the coveted (by Doug) domain LBO.COM wants their stock to act like a bond, and their dividend reflects this. Other companies believe that the interests of the shareholder are best served by taking those profits and reinvesting it in the growth of the company. If you can decide what's important to you between those two, you're well on your way to becoming a stock picker.
But: I think it's important to separate a public offering of shares from the secondary trading of the shares. My earlier comment really only speaks to the offering of shares by a company to the public: this is the primary mechanism by which a company distributes the financial risk of doing business.
In exchange for money, they give up total control of the upside.
Now: what's that worth to a buyer, especially on a secondary exchange? The short answer is that it's worth what someone will pay for it. The longer answer is somewhat more complicated. The company doesn't directly participate in such transactions/fluctuations, except to the extent that they may be the largest shareholder early in their lifecycle, or key employees may be large shareholders.
/jordan