Growth stocks are great for increasing the value of your investment portfolio and better preparing yourself for retirement.
However, cash inflows are also important when you retire, and dividends can help to ease that transition.
Hence, it makes sense to try to get the best of both worlds by searching for stocks with growth and increasing dividends.
Here are four such US stocks that can deliver on this promise.
Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ: LANC)
Lancaster Colony is a manufacturer and marketer of speciality food products for the retail and foodservice channels.
Some brands under the company include Marzetti dips and dressings, Sister Shubert’s homemade rolls, and New York Brand bakery bread and croutons.
Lancaster Colony saw its revenue for the first half of fiscal 2025 (1H FY2025) ending 31 December 2024 rise 3% year on year to US$975.9 million.
Operating profit increased by 7.3% year on year to US$131.5 million.
Net profit (excluding a pension settlement charge of US$14 million) increased by 12.8% year on year to S$107.7 million.
The company also generated a positive free cash flow of US$98.9 million, albeit 5.3% lower than the previous year’s US$104.4 million.
A quarterly dividend of US$0.95 was declared, marking the 62nd consecutive year of dividend increase for the business.
Lancaster Colony is just one of 12 companies in the US with such a stellar dividend track record.
Management is continuing with strategic growth initiatives for FY2025 with the successful implementation of a new ERP system.
By stabilising its supply chain, Lancaster Colony can now focus on value creation and growth initiatives.
It has also successfully integrated its recently acquired sauce and dressing production facility in Atlanta, Georgia.
This acquisition, costing around US$75 million, adds approximately 250,000 square feet of manufacturing space and is located closer to certain core customers.
Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL)
Colgate-Palmolive is a consumer goods company that manufactures and sells a wide range of oral care, personal care, and home care products in more than 200 countries.
Some of its famous brands include Colgate, Palmolive, Protex, Sanex, and Ajax.
For 2024, the company’s revenue rose 3.3% year on year to US$20.1 billion.
Operating profit climbed 7.1% year on year to US$4.3 billion while net profit surged 25.6% year on year to US$2.9 billion.
Free cash flow improved from US$3 billion last year to US$3.5 billion in 2024, up 16.6% year on year.
In line with its consistent and increasing free cash flow generation, Colgate-Palmolive upped its quarterly cash dividend from US$0.50 to US$0.52.
The directors also authorised a new share repurchase programme of up to US$5 billion.
For 2025, the company expects total sales to remain flat but that organic growth will be in the range of 3% to 5%.
This growth will be negated by the company’s planned exit from the private label pet nutrition business.
Back in February 2025, Colgate-Palmolive acquired Care TopCo Pty Ltd, owner of the Prime100 pet food brand.
This purchase allows the company to enter the fresh pet food category and strengthens its presence in the Australian pet food market.
Walmart (NYSE: WMT)
Walmart is an omnichannel retailer with 10,750 stores and numerous e-commerce sites spread across 19 countries.
The company serves around 270 million customers and employs more than 2.1 million staff worldwide.
The retailer delivered an impressive performance for its fiscal 2025 (FY2025) ending 31 January 2025.
Total revenue rose 5.1% year on year to US$681 billion while operating income increased by 8.6% year on year to US$29.3 billion.
Net profit climbed 25.3% year on year to US$19.4 billion, largely due to a US$3 billion loss recognised in FY2024.
Stripping out this exceptional item, net profit would have increased by 9.1% year on year to US$20.2 billion.
Walmart also generated a positive free cash flow of US$12.7 billion for FY2025.
In line with the good results, the retailer increased its quarterly dividend by 13% year on year from US$0.83 to US$0.94 per share, making this the 52nd consecutive year of increase.
For FY2026, Walmart expects net sales to increase by 3% to 4% year on year, with diluted earnings per share projected to come in between US$2.50 to US$2.60.
At the midpoint, this represents a year-on-year increase of 5.8%.
Abbott Labs (NYSE: ABT)
Abbott Labs is a healthcare company with a portfolio of products and technologies in diagnostics, medical devices, nutritional, and branded generic medicine.
The company employs 114,000 staff spread across more than 160 countries.
Net sales for the first quarter of 2025 (1Q 2025) rose 4% year on year to US$10.4 billion.
Operating profit jumped 22.1% year on year to US$1.7 billion while net profit improved by 8.2% year on year to US$1.3 billion.
In tandem with these good results, the healthcare company increased its quarterly dividend by 7.3% year on year to US$0.59,
This increase marks Abbott’s 53rd consecutive year of dividend growth, with its dividend increasing by more than 60% since 2020.
Last month, the company announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had approved an investigational device exemption for its Coronary Intravascular Lithotripsy (IVL) System to evaluate the treatment of severe calcification in coronary arteries before stenting.
This IVL System represents a potential new treatment by using sound pressure waves to treat arterial calcium blockages.
Just a few days later, Abbott received the CE Mark in Europe for its Volt PFA System to treat patients battling atrial fibrillation.
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Disclosure: Royston Yang does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned.
