单选题 A firm has a capital structure of 60% debt and 40% equity and a dividend payout ratio of 50%. If a surplus results from first-pass pro-forma financial statements based on estimated sales growth and assuming the capital structure and dividend payout ratio are maintained, which of the following changes in assumptions would eliminate any surplus in a single step? A. The entire surplus will be used to pay down long-term debt. B. The dividend payout ratio will decrease to 30%. C. The entire surplus will be used to repurchase common stock.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】If the entire surplus is used to repurchase common stock, total equity would be reduced by the amount of the surplus without affecting any of the other projected balance sheet or income statement items. This would balance assets with liabilities and equity without further iterations. If any of the surplus is used to pay down long-term debt, interest expense and taxes would change, requiring more iterations to reconcile the pro forma financial statements. To reconcile the pro forma statements in a single step by changing the dividend payout ratio, it would have to increase enough so that the entire surplus would be paid as additional dividends.