Investing in growth stocks is an effective way for you to grow your wealth so as to enjoy a happy retirement.
But you should not just invest in any growth stock.
It’s important to be discerning and filter out those that demonstrate consistent increases in profits.
By doing so, you should enjoy steady share price appreciation.
An added bonus is for these stocks to also pay out an increasing dividend that acts as a useful source of passive income.
Here are four attractive US stocks that are reporting higher profits and dividends.
Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ: LANC)
Lancaster Colony is a manufacturer and marketer of speciality food products for the retail and foodservice channels.
The business has displayed healthy growth over the years.
From fiscal 2022 (the company has a 30 June fiscal year-end) to fiscal 2024, sales grew from US$1.7 billion to US$1.9 billion.
Net profit jumped from US$89.6 million to US$158.6 million over the same period.
Lancaster Colony also generated consistent free cash flow over these three years.
The company’s quarterly dividend has also increased for 61 consecutive years, making it just one of 13 US companies that has done so.
The latest quarterly dividend of US$0.90 represents a 5.9% year on year increase from US$0.85.
The company reported a resilient set of earnings for the first quarter of fiscal 2025.
Sales came in at US$466.6 million, inching up 1.1% year on year from US$461.6 million a year ago.
Net profit improved by 1.7% year on year to US$44.7 million.
The business continued to churn out a positive free cash flow of US$2.3 million, although this was down from the US$17.3 million churned out in the prior year.
Management inked a licensing programme with Subway for its sauces and also expanded distribution for Texas Roadhouse (NASDAQ: TXRH) dinner rolls after a successful pilot test.
The company also saw increased demand from several national chain restaurant owners along with higher volume for its foodservice products.
Roper Technologies (NASDAQ: ROP)
Roper Technologies designs and develops software and technology-enabled products for a variety of niche markets such as medical solutions and entertainment industries.
Roper Technologies has demonstrated solid growth over the years for both its top and bottom lines.
Revenue increased from US$4.8 billion in 2021 to US$6.2 billion in 2023.
Over the same period, the software company saw its net profit increase from US$1.1 billion to US$1.4 billion.
The business is also a consistent free cash flow generator with an average annual free cash flow of US$1.5 billion churned out.
The company’s quarterly dividend also saw a 10.3% year on year increase to US$0.75 from US$0.68.
For the first nine months of this year (9M 2024), Roper Technologies reported an admirable financial result.
Revenue rose 13.1% year on year to US$5.2 billion while operating profit increased by 14.8% year on year to US$1.5 billion.
Net profit stood at US$1.1 billion, up 9.2% year on year.
The business continued to churn out a positive free cash flow of US$1.6 billion, up nearly 19% year on year.
Roper recently acquired Transact Campus Inc for US$1.5 billion and expects this to add US$325 million to revenue for 2025.
Transact is a provider of innovative campus technology and payment solutions.
Cintas (NASDAQ: CTAS)
Cintas provides products and services that keeps its customers’ premises clean and employees clean and safe.
The company sells products such as uniforms, mats, mops, restroom supplies, and first-aid products, among others.
Cintas, which has a 31 May fiscal year-end, reported steadily-increasing revenue and net profit over the years.
Total revenue increased from US$7.8 billion in fiscal 2022 to US$9.6 billion in fiscal 2024.
Net profit improved from US$1.2 billion to US$1.6 billion over the same period.
The total dividend paid per year also increased from US$3.80 per share to US$5.40 per share.
The business also saw free cash flow generation improve over the years, going from US$1.3 billion in fiscal 2022 to US$1.7 billion in fiscal 2024.
Cintas continued to report healthy increases in revenue and profits for the first quarter of fiscal 2025 (1Q FY2025).
Total revenue rose 6.8% year on year to US$2.5 billion while net profit climbed 17.4% year on year to US$452 million.
The business also generated a positive free cash flow of US$373.8 million for 1Q FY2025.
Cintas’ board also approved a quarterly dividend of US$1.56, 15.6% higher than the dividend paid out a year ago.
Visa (NYSE: V)
Visa is one of the world’s largest payment processing companies and helps to ensure secure and efficient payments between merchants and their customers.
The company had just announced its fiscal 2024 (FY2024) earnings for the fiscal year ending 30 September 2024.
It was a strong result as revenue rose 10% year on year to US$35.9 billion while operating profit jumped 12.4% year on year to US$23.6 billion.
Net profit surged 14.3% year on year to US$19.7 billion.
Visa also saw the total number of cards in issue rise 7% year on year to 4.6 billion for its fiscal 2024’s third quarter.
The payments company generated a positive free cash flow of US$18.7 billion for FY2024, dipping slightly below the US$19.7 billion churned out in FY2023.
The company declared a quarterly dividend of US$0.59, higher than the US$0.52 it paid out a year ago.
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Disclosure: Royston Yang owns shares of Visa.