Why are dividends considered meaningless? If they are a share of real profits?

I don't understand why people think a high dividend paying stock is pointless? The argument is always "the stock price goes down by the exact amount of the distribution". But is that even true? Some of a stocks value is based on fundamentals, sure, but plenty of the valuation is speculative and based on perceived future performance. Look at all these high valuation AI stocks. They're bleeding cash and making very little revenue, yet they have high valuations. So why should I discount a profitable company that shared some of its profits with shareholders via dividends and also still retains its speculative value in the stock price?