Does std::cout have a return value?

cout does not have a return value. cout is an object of type ostream. operator << has a return value, it returns a reference to cout.

See http://www.cplusplus.com/reference/iostream/ostream/operator%3C%3C/ for reference.

The only signature that matches is:

ostream& operator<< (ostream& ( *pf )(ostream&));

so it returns the pointer to the operator<< member.

the one in James' answer. :)