Posted: Feb 12, 2017 9:14 am
For dividends. Share prices don't need to go up for shareholders to profit.
I think these are the explanatory notes for the relevant section of UK law (obviously other countries will have comparable but different statutes relating to duty to shareholders) http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/200 ... vision/6/2
This duty codifies the current law and enshrines in statute what is commonly referred to as the principle of “enlightened shareholder value”. The duty requires a director to act in the way he or she considers, in good faith, would be most likely to promote the success of the company for the benefit of its members as a whole and, in doing so, have regard to the factors listed.
Essentially directors are charged with acting in the interests of shareholders, there's no duty to even maximise share price per se.