@futurebird It's not made sense to me either.
As a company, I sell stock once, and in return I need to pay a form a sort of interest payment, a dividend, paid in perpetuity, with a crap ton of rules and regulations now guiding my operations? It's not a loan or a bond, but still a form of debt. I got the cash infusion one,
It makes zero for most corporations except for the people who become rich off the process. Obligations for a cash infusion that may have occurred a generation ago, or more.
It makes sense for an operation with massive infastructure needs, where the capital needs are huge. Shipping, railroads, electricity etc. For a company with mostly IP? Someone got rich.
It is a leash on a corporation, to allow an outsider to profit from someone else's work effort.