13 Elite Companies With Fast-Growing Dividends

Plus, where to find undervalued dividend growth stocks today.

David Harrell 5 June, 2025 | 3:22PM Ivanna Hampton
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Ivanna Hampton: Welcome to Investing Insights, I’m your host Ivanna Hampton. A dividend-paying streak sends a strong signal. It shows that a company has grown its earnings enough to support dividend increases and reflects the firm’s commitment to returning cash via dividend as opposed to share repurchases. Morningstar DividendInvestor newsletter has highlighted more than a dozen companies that have pulled it off for five straight years. I spoke with the newsletter’s editor, David Harrell, about this year’s class of dividend growers.

Thanks for being here, David.

David Harrell: It’s great to be back.


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What Qualifies a Dividend Stock to Be on the DividendInvestor’s Annual Dividend Growers List?

Hampton: Well, you researched which dividend-paying stocks qualified for a spot on DividendInvestor’s annual dividend growers list. This is where we got the story, everybody. Let’s start with the criteria.

Harrell: Sure. So I was looking, first of all, for stocks that had increased their per share dividend payout by at least 10% for five consecutive calendar years. So the version we did for that issue, we were looking at 2020, 21, 22, 23, and 24, at least 10% a year. I did not penalize companies that may have paid a special dividend, you know, an extra 50 cents somewhere in there and then not done that the following years. I didn’t think that was fair. So I was really looking only at their regular dividend payout. But then I was also looking for firms that either had a wide or narrow economic moat rating from Morningstar equity analysts, a low or medium uncertainty rating, and then also had a current yield of at least 1%. So it ended up being a short list, but with the caveat that there are probably some other firms out there that would meet the 10% a year criteria. But because I was limiting it to Morningstar Equity Analysts coverage list, anything that’s not covered by Morningstar was not going to make this list.

13 Elite Companies With Fast-Growing Dividends

Hampton: And 13 companies made this unique list. Who are they, and are there any newcomers?

Harrell: Sure. It included some well-known names like Mondelēz International, the snack food manufacturer, brands like Chips Ahoy, Snap-on Tools, Domino’s Pizza, and UnitedHealth, which has obviously been in the news lately. Some of the new names included Accenture, Elevance Health, MSCI, SBAC Communications, and Zoetis.

  1. Accenture ACN
  2. Broadcom AVGO
  3. Domino’s Pizza Inc DPZ
  4. Elevance Health ELV
  5. Mondelēz Global MDLZ
  6. Motorola Solutions MSI
  7. MSCI MSCI
  8. NextEra Energy NEE
  9. SBA Communications SBAC
  10. Snap-on SNA
  11. SS&C Technologies SSNC
  12. UnitedHealth Group UNH
  13. Zoetis ZTS

Why These Companies Failed to Make the Dividend Growers List in 2025

Hampton: And this year’s list is slightly smaller than last year’s list. Talk about the companies that failed to make the cut this year and why.

Harrell: Sure. Some of the companies did not make the list again because they didn’t meet that 10% hurdle. Companies like Analog Devices ADI, Goldman Sachs GS, Home Depot HD, Nike NKE, and Tractor Supply TSCO, they all had good dividend raises in 2024, but not quite enough to meet that 10% hurdle. Then there were a few others that got knocked off for other reasons. Kroger KR, for example, raised its dividend by at least 10% in 2024, but Morningstar analysts downgraded its moat rating from a narrow to none, so it got kicked off the list. NXP Semiconductors NXPI held its dividend flat for all of 2024, so it’s off the list. And American Tower AMT, which is a cellular tower operator, it actually had a great dividend story. It had been increasing its dividend every quarter for its entire history. But then in 2024, it brought its dividend rate down. So it’s off the list, although it has since restored its dividend to where it was before.

Which Companies Were ‘Near Misses’ for the Dividend Growers List?

Hampton: But those stocks appear on your other list, the near misses, correct?

Harrell: Right. So it’s a slightly longer list that I compile, the near misses. And these are firms that were just one factor away. So maybe they don’t have a moat rating or they have a single year in which they had missed the 10% hurdle. However, if they had a dividend decrease, then that kicks them out entirely.

Hampton: Name some of the near misses.

Harrell: Sure. Well, some of them that I just mentioned that got kicked off the list. So Nike, Home Depot, eBay EBAY, Dollar General DG, Dick’s Sporting Goods DKS. Those are all firms that are on that near-miss list this year.

  • Analog Devices ADI
  • Goldman Sachs GS
  • Home Depot HD
  • Nike NKE
  • Tractor Supply TSCO
  • Kroger KR
  • NXP Semiconductors NXPI
  • American Tower AMT
  • eBay EBAY
  • Dollar General DG
  • Dick’s Sporting Goods DKS

Why Are Higher-Yielding Dividend Stocks Absent?

Hampton: So the average yield among the dividend growers is just 1.8%. Why are companies with higher dividend yields not on the list?

Harrell: Sure. So like you said, it’s a relatively modest yield, 1.8%. While that is higher than the yield of the overall market, it is below sort of the yield that a lot of investors who are looking for current income are seeking, but I wasn’t really surprised to see that. And this really comes down to the math because if you think about it. A company that has grown its dividend 10% a year for five consecutive years. That compounds out to 61%. So they’ve raised their dividends by 61% over the past five years. In general, the higher-yielding firms, firms that are yielding 3-plus, 4-plus, or even 5-plus percent, are already paying out a fairly large portion of their earnings each year as dividends. So they have a little less room to grow. So I really wasn’t surprised to see that the average yield was under 2%.

Why Dividend Growth Investing Can Benefit Investors With a Longer Time Horizon

Hampton: Now, a typical income investor may shun dividend stocks with such low yields. Who should consider adding dividend growers to their portfolio? And what’s to gain?

Harrell: Sure. Well, you know, there are a handful. NextEra Energy NEE, for example, is yielding more than 3%. But I think it really comes down to what you’re looking for for your portfolio and what are these dividend increases signaling. So, like you said, if you’re looking primarily for current income, some of these names aren’t necessarily going to be that appealing to you. But think about where do dividends come from? Dividends come from earnings. So companies who are increasing their dividends at a healthy rate are generally firms that are seeing their earnings grow year after year. And so there’s a lot of research into this idea of dividend growth investing as an investment strategy, not for current income, but rather companies that are showing strong dividend growth are companies with strong earnings growth, and that can be reflected in stock prices.