For companies with already high payout ratios, this can be problematic, as a higher percentage of earnings paid to shareholders may crimp capital expenditures or research and development commitments that are needed to keep the business growing.
Peter Appelbaum, an expert in resistant bacteria at Penn State, says the drug has been in development for 15 years and causes more nausea than other drugs--a side effect that could crimp Wyeth's rosy forecasts.