Cisco paid no dividends but repurchased $5 billion of shares last year. Total repurchase spending is expected to grow at 8% indefinitely. The cost of equity is 12% and there are currently 6 billion shares outstanding.
Use total payout to value all equity and divide by the current share count. Repurchases change future shares outstanding, so a per-share dividend growth calculation is not interchangeable with this model.
Future has never paid dividends and is not expected to pay any in the future, yet its equity market value is 500 million.
If all future dividends and terminal shareholder distributions are literally zero, their discounted value is zero. A positive fundamental value must come from some future benefit to shareholders, such as repurchases, liquidation proceeds or an eventual dividend policy. A total-payout model can include repurchases; the past absence of dividends alone does not imply zero value.