Investors will naturally gravitate towards companies that demonstrate stability and strength.
These attributes are revealed when you look at the business’s financial track record and can provide you with a good night’s sleep.
Many growth stocks in the US can provide such reliability.
The bonus is that a number of them have also upped their dividends consistently, thus giving investors an attractive mix of both growth and yield.
Here are four such stocks that you can consider adding to your buy watchlist.
Visa (NYSE: V)
Visa is one of the largest payment processing companies in the world and helps to connect customers and merchants to make payments secure and efficient.
As of 30 September 2024, the payments giant had 4.7 billion credit and debit cards in issue.
For the first quarter of fiscal 2025 (1Q FY2025) ending 31 December 2024, Visa reported revenue of US$9.5 billion, up 10.1% year on year.
Operating profit rose 4.7% year on year to US$6.2 billion with net profit increasing by the same quantum to US$5.1 billion.
The business generated a positive free cash flow of US$5.1 billion for the quarter, up sharply by almost 51% year on year.
The total number of transactions processed in 1Q FY2025 increased by 9% year on year to 81.7 billion, with cross-border volumes increasing by 15% year on year.
Visa paid out a quarterly dividend of US$0.59, a 13.5% year-on-year increase compared to the US$0.52 that was paid in the prior year.
Management intends to focus on three growth levers – consumer payments, new flows, and value-added services, to continue growing the business.
Lennox International (NYSE: LII)
Lennox International provides climate control solutions for air conditioning, heating, and refrigeration.
For 2024, the company reported a stellar set of financial results.
Revenue improved by 7.2% year on year to US$5.3 billion while operating profit climbed 31% year on year to US$1 billion.
Net profit surged 36.7% year on year to US$806.9 million.
Lennox International’s free cash flow generation improved significantly by 60% year on year, churning out a free cash flow of US$782.1 million.
The company increased its quarterly dividend by 4.5% year on year to US$1.15 per share.
Management sees growth accelerating in 2025 and 2026 with an improved customer digital experience.
The company will also add new capacity and market enhanced heat pumps through its Samsung joint venture.
Management has identified a robust pipeline of acquisition opportunities and has clear strategies on how to select and execute these purchases.
Lennox International’s 2026 target is to grow revenue to between US$5.4 billion to US$6 billion with more than 90% of its net profit converted to free cash flow.
BlackRock (NYSE: BLK)
BlackRock is one of the largest asset managers in the world with total assets under management (AUM) of US$11.5 trillion as of 31 December 2024.
The company reported a solid set of earnings for 2024 as revenue climbed 14% year on year to US$20.4 billion.
Operating profit jumped 21% year on year to US$7.6 billion while net profit came in at US$6.4 billion, up 16% year on year.
In line with these good results, Blackrock declared a quarterly dividend of US$5.21 per share, a 2% year-on-year increase from US$5.10 last year.
This dividend was 6.8% higher than the US$4.88 paid out in the fourth quarter of 2022.
BlackRock saw total net inflows of US$641.4 billion last year, lifting its AUM by 15% year on year to US$11.5 trillion.
Last December, the asset manager acquired HPS Investment Partners for US$12 billion to create an enlarged private credit manager with around US$220 billion in pro-forma private credit client assets.
This deal extends BlackRock’s private market capabilities and is expected to increase its private markets management fees by around 35% to over US$2.5 billion.
WW Grainger (NYSE: GWW)
Grainger is a distributor of around two million maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) products and services across North America, Japan, and the UK.
The company reported revenue of US$17.2 billion for 2024, up 4.2% year on year.
Operating profit improved by 2.8% year on year to US$2.6 billion while net profit increased by 4.4% year on year to US$1.9 billion.
Free cash flow stood at US$1.6 billion for the year, roughly the same level as what was generated in the previous year.
Grainger paid a quarterly dividend of US$2.05, up 10.2% from the US$1.86 paid in the prior year.
The business guided for sales growth of between 2.7% to 5.2% year on year for 2025, with earnings per share staying flat to growing by 6.5% year on year.
Management intends to spend between US$450 million to US$550 million on organic investments to expand its supply chain capacity and invest in technology capabilities.
Grainger has a small, dedicated team evaluating acquisition opportunities.
The company also returns cash to shareholders via share repurchases.
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Disclosure: Royston Yang owns shares of Visa.
