Investors in US-listed companies typically focus more on capital growth than dividends.
For example, investors who held Alphabet (NASDAQ. GOOG) shares over the past year are more likely to be celebrating the 104% one-year return, and not its 0.2% dividend yield.
Indeed, when fast-growing companies start paying a dividend, this is often taken as a sign that the company has matured and has fewer opportunities – otherwise, it would reinvest capital in the business, not return it to shareholders.
Still, the US can be an attractive hunting ground for income investors.
An exclusive group of S&P 500 companies – known as ‘dividend aristocrats’ – have paid a dividend over at least the past 25 years, and even increased payouts yearly.
This is rare.
Dividend aristocrats offer more than just income.
They can raise payouts over a long period because of their durability, discipline, and staying power. This translates into the financial strength to reward shareholders across multiple economic cycles.
Over most long-term periods, dividend aristocrats have delivered similar total returns to the S&P 500, but with lower volatility.
Let’s take a closer look through the lenses of three titans of this elite group.
Walmart (NASDAQ: WMT) — The Consumer Staples Giant
Walmart is the largest retailer by revenue in the world, with over 10,000 stores throughout the US and internationally.
It sells products that we need in our everyday lives, ensuring steady demand regardless of economic cycles.
This has supported a decades-long history of dividend growth.
Earlier this year, it raised its annual cash dividend for its fiscal year ending 31 January 2027 (FY2027) by 5% year on year, marking the 53rd consecutive year of dividend increases.
Despite this, Walmart is trading at what seems like a low dividend yield of just 0.8%.
The company is highly cash generative: in FY2026, it generated operating cash flow of a little under US$42 billion, 14% more than the previous year.
This compares to the US$7.5 billion it paid out in dividends for the fiscal year.
Walmart’s business is highly defensive.
It’s able to use its scale to secure inventory at a lower cost from suppliers, and can pass this along to customers.
The retailer’s reputation as a seller of affordable products means that it can appeal to shoppers even in tough economic times.
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) — The Healthcare Leader
Johnson & Johnson is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, selling both innovative drugs and medical devices.
In 2025, the company paid a dividend of US$5.14 per share, for a dividend yield of 2.1%.
This was its 63rd consecutive year of increasing its dividend.
This is supported by strong cash flows: US$24.5 billion generated from operating activities in 2025, while US$12.4 billion was paid to shareholders as dividends.
Johnson & Johnson is a resilient business as it has operations globally and diversified revenue streams, with 28 of its products generating at least US$1 billion in sales annually. This means that increased competition in one product area will not significantly impact the overall top line.
Healthcare is consumed regardless of the economic environment, and the industry will benefit as an aging and increasingly affluent population raises demand for the innovative medicines and products that Johnson & Johnson sells.
S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI) — The Cash Flow Compounder
S&P Global provides benchmarks, data, analytics and workflow solutions in the global capital, energy and commodity, and automotive markets.
In 2025, it paid a dividend of US$3.84 per share, 5% higher than the year before, for a dividend yield of 0.9%.
Like Walmart and Johnson & Johnson, S&P Global has increased its dividend annually for over 50 years.
It’s been able to do so by balancing shareholder returns with investment.
2025 saw the company generate around US$5.7 billion from operating activities, paying out roughly US$1.2 billion in dividends to shareholders, and spending US$2.2 billion on capital expenditure and acquisitions.
These payouts continued even in times of crisis.
Between 2007 and 2009, the company increased its dividend by nearly 10% despite the global financial crisis. Similarly, it hiked its dividend by 35% between 2019 and 2021, despite the Covid-19 pandemic.
Why Dividend Growth Can Be More Powerful Than High Yield
Notably, the three featured companies all have relatively low dividend yields, which may seem counter-intuitive to a dividend investor looking for high yields.
However, the latter is often a sign that the company cannot sustain its dividend.
Dividend aristocrats are only able to consistently raise their dividend, year after year, because they have healthy businesses.
Long-term investors can wait for these dividend increases to compound over time.
But investors should still monitor their positions.
If earnings growth starts to slow, hiking the dividend might be increasingly difficult.
For example, as oil prices plunged during the pandemic in 2020, oil & gas supermajor ExxonMobil (NYSE, XOM) (also a dividend aristocrat) had to take on debt in order to fund its dividend payments and capital expenditure plans.
While the company did keep its promise not to touch its dividend, investors may want to reduce or sell their position if they suspect that continually increasing dividends is no longer sustainable, perhaps because the industry has undergone a structural change.
Get Smart: Consistency Is One of the Greatest Competitive Advantages
Dividend aristocrats, including the ones we have featured in this article, deserve to be considered as part of the core holdings in the portfolio of a long-term investor.
They can complement growth stocks with their stability and steady income, and may help to lower the volatility of a portfolio.
These companies do not become dividend aristocrats by accident – raising dividends annually, over more than 25 years, requires more than luck.
It is a reflection of their resilient business models that enable them to navigate recessions, inflation, and market volatility.
Dividend aristocrats offer investors a timely reminder that long-term wealth is built through consistency, discipline and time in the market.
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Disclosure: Silas H. does not own any of the stocks mentioned.
