Companies that consistently raise their dividends are demonstrating something real: growing earnings, cash generation, and more importantly, a willingness to share more of it with shareholders.
But a growth streak proves nothing about the future.
Three companies stand out for raising their dividends steadily over the past five years.
The real question is whether they can do it again over the next five.
What Makes a Dividend-Growth Stock Attractive?
A few things separate a genuine dividend grower from a company that just happens to pay more this year.
Earnings need to be rising, giving the business room to pay out more without straining itself.
The earnings growth should also show up in cash, not just on paper — a company can report a healthy profit and still struggle to pay a dividend if the cash isn’t there.
The payout ratio matters too: pay out too little, and shareholders miss out; pay out too much, and there’s nothing left to reinvest.
And debt should stay manageable, since a business weighed down by loans has far less room to keep paying a dividend when conditions turn tough.
A bonus point if the business has a special sauce, such as a regulatory moat, that helps keep growth humming through different business cycles.
DBS (SGX: D05) – The Blue-Chip Dividend Grower
This financial powerhouse has seen its dividend nearly triple since 2021 – from S$1.09 per share to S$3.06 in 2025, which represents a 29% compound annual growth rate (CAGR).
Moreover, the dividend has been on a mostly consistent upward path, with only 2023’s dividend dipping compared to the prior year.
It’s not hard to see why DBS’s dividend growth has been so robust. In the latest quarter ending 30 June 2026 (Q2 2026), DBS posted record total income and net profit of S$6.1 billion and S$3.1 billion, respectively. The former grew 6% year-on-year (YoY) while the latter was up 9% and supported a strong return on equity (ROE) of 17.9%.
There is room for further dividend increases given DBS’s payout ratio for ordinary dividends is only around 30%, while a healthy fully phased-in common equity tier one (CET1) ratio of 14.6% provides decent support for continued payments through tough times.
Finally, a booming wealth management business further supports the possibility of dividend growth being continued moving forward.
Singapore Exchange (SGX: 68), or SGX – The Defensive Dividend Compounder
SGX’s total dividend rose from S$0.32 per share in FY2021 (financial year ended 30 June 2021) to S$0.57 per share in FY2026 – a 12.2% CAGR over five years, although the dividend-record includes one flat year in FY2022.
As a toll-booth business that effectively levies a tax on trading activity in Singapore’s financial market, SGX’s earnings and free cash flow (FCF) hold up even during weaker economic periods; this is best seen in its historical dividend payments, which have held even during weaker markets.
Further dividend growth comes down to SGX’s ability to maintain its steady revenue growth over the years and a historically disciplined payout ratio (around 60-80% of earnings). The bourse operator’s solid balance sheet with minimal net debt further fortifies its future dividend payments.
ST Engineering (SGX: S63) – The Higher-Growth Dividend Payer
The last name on this list may not have consistently increased its dividends year after year, but its five-year track record is nothing to scoff at: ST Engineering’s total dividend rose from S$0.15 per share in 2021 to S$0.23 in 2025 – an 11.3% CAGR.
Although the starting and current yields are low, ST Engineering’s dividend growth has outpaced inflation on the back of a robust order book (S$35.7 billion as of 30 June 2026), strong free cash flow generation, and healthy secular growth trends in ST Engineering’s key markets of aerospace and defence.
As long as the company keeps winning orders and does a solid job of converting its order book into earnings and cash flow, it is likely that ST Engineering continues raising its dividends.
This is especially so given management’s new dividend policy to pay out more of its earnings to shareholders.
Why Dividend Growth Can Matter More Than a High Starting Yield
A simple illustration: Stock A yields 6% today but never raises its payout, while Stock B starts at 3.5% but grows its dividend 7% a year.
On a S$10,000 stake, Stock A pays S$600 a year, indefinitely. Stock B starts at S$350 — but compounding at 7%, it overtakes Stock A’s income within about eight years, and keeps pulling further ahead every year after.
This is yield on cost: your income measured against your original investment, not today’s price. A dividend that keeps growing can turn a modest starting yield into a substantial one over a long enough horizon — the inverse of what a static high yield can ever do.
What Could Break the Dividend Growth Streak?
Watch for earnings declines, weakening free cash flow, a payout ratio stretching beyond what earnings can support, sharply rising debt, heavy new capex requirements, industry disruption, or management choosing to prioritise acquisitions over the dividend.
Past growth is useful evidence, but you still have to monitor if cash generation supports dividend payments.
What Should Investors Watch Going Forward?
As always, monitor quarterly earnings and whether they translate into free cash flow. We also do not want a material increase in debt from companies to fund their payments.
The best dividend growers are simply businesses whose earnings and cash flow keep growing alongside what they pay out — not the other way around.
Get Smart: Look for Dividends That Can Keep Growing
DBS, SGX and ST Engineering have all raised their dividends over the past five years, but not one of them did it every single year — each had a flat or uneven stretch somewhere along the way.
That’s worth remembering before crediting any company with a clean streak.
The dividend itself is really just the output.
What decides whether it keeps rising is the business behind it: are earnings actually growing, is that growth turning into real cash, does the balance sheet have room to absorb a bad year?
Check those, and the yield on the label matters a lot less.
Over a long horizon, a steadily rising dividend — even an imperfect one — can become a genuinely powerful source of compounding income.
Retirement doesn’t happen overnight. It’s built one decision at a time.
We found 6 SGX companies that have paid dividends every year for more than 20 years, through the Global Financial Crisis, COVID-19, and rising interest rates.
If you’re building long-term income for retirement, this free report is a great place to start. Download your copy today.
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Telegram and YouTube for the latest investing news and analyses!
Disclosure: Wilson.H does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned.
