Question

Should stockholder wealth maximization be thought of as a long$-$term or a short$-$term goal? For example, if one action increases a firm$$s stock price from a current level of $$20$ to$$25$ in $6$ months and then to $$30$ in $5$ years, but another action keeps the stock at$$20$ for several years but then increases it to $$40$ in $5$ years, which action would be better? Think of some specific corporate actions that have these general tendencies.