What is a dividend reinvestment plan (DRIP) offered directly by a company?

Beyond the automatic reinvestment setting at your broker, some companies run their own direct DRIPs, letting shareholders buy stock straight from the company and automatically reinvest dividends, sometimes at a small discount and often allowing tiny optional cash purchases. Historically these were popular for accumulating shares cheaply before commission-free brokers existed. Today, with $0 commissions and fractional shares at every major broker, a company-run DRIP offers little advantage for most people and can complicate record-keeping and transfers because the shares live outside your main brokerage. Unless a specific plan offers a meaningful purchase discount, you're usually better off simply enabling dividend reinvestment inside your regular brokerage account, where everything stays consolidated, easy to track for taxes, and simple to sell or move later.