In this article, we will take a look at the 25 best dividend aristocrat stocks.
Dividend aristocrats are companies that have raised their dividends every year for at least 25 years. Investors tend to favor them because a long record of dividend growth creates confidence that payouts can keep rising over time.
These companies are usually mature businesses with steady earnings. In many cases, management teams place dividends high on the capital structure, treating regular increases as a core responsibility. For investors who rely on income, that kind of discipline carries weight.
Still, dividend aristocrats are not immune to cuts. Early in 2024, for example, former dividend aristocrat Walgreens Boots Alliance WBA reduced its dividend by nearly half. That move surprised many income-focused investors and served as a reminder that history alone does not guarantee safety.
Morningstar Indexes strategist Dan Lefkovitz has noted that companies with wide economic moats have been less likely to cut dividends than companies with narrow moats. Businesses with no moat face the highest risk. That difference often becomes clear when earnings come under pressure.
Research from S&P Dow Jones Indices helps explain why dividends matter over the long run. As the report states, “Dividends play an important role in generating equity total return.” Since 1926, dividends have contributed about 31% of total return for the S&P 500, while capital appreciation accounted for 69%. Both income and growth shape long-term return expectations.
The report also found that, over time, the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats delivered higher returns with lower volatility than the broader S&P 500. That combination led to stronger risk-adjusted returns and explains why many investors continue to pay close attention to this group.
Given this, we will take a look at some of the best dividend aristocrat stocks to invest in.
Our Methodology:
For this article, we scanned a list of Dividend Aristocrats and identified companies with the strongest dividend growth rates over the past five years. We picked 25 companies with the highest dividend growth rates and ranked them accordingly.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 427.7% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 264 percentage points (see more details here).
25. Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)
5-Year Average Dividend Growth Rate: 5.81%
Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) supplies electricity, natural gas, and water to about 4.6 million customers across Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. As a regulated utility, its rates are set by federal and state regulators, giving the company a clear path to recover costs through routine rate cases. It does not own power generation assets. Instead, it meets customer demand by securing energy through long-term contracts and procurement agreements.
The company has built a solid earnings record over time and stands to benefit from scheduled rate increases, ongoing transmission upgrades, and continued investment in clean energy projects. Eversource has also exited its US commercial-scale offshore wind business. That move simplifies the story and leaves the company focused entirely on its regulated utility operations.
With economic development across its service territory remaining supportive, management expects to invest about $24.2 billion between 2025 and 2029 to modernize and expand its infrastructure. There is also room for an additional $1.5 billion to $2 billion in incremental projects over the same period.
Taken together, those investments underpin the company’s outlook for 5% to 7% annual non-GAAP EPS growth over the forecast window. On the income side, Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) recently raised its quarterly dividend by 4.7% to $0.7875 per share, extending its dividend growth streak to 26 consecutive years.
24. Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)
5-Year Average Dividend Growth Rate: 5.97%
On January 28, Piper Sandler analyst Jason Bednar lifted Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)’s price recommendation to $205 from $190. The analyst maintained a Neutral rating. The firm pointed to changes in how BD reports its business units starting in Q1 2026 and said it is updating its financial model to align with the new structure. Piper added that its estimates still include the Life Sciences segment, even though that unit is set to transition to Waters in the coming weeks.
Earlier in the month, BD announced plans to invest $110 million to expand production of prefillable syringes, a move aimed at supporting faster delivery of biologic and GLP-1 drugs while strengthening pharmaceutical manufacturing in the U.S. The investment brings BD Neopak™ Glass Prefillable Syringe production to Columbus, Nebraska, and is expected to create about 120 new jobs while improving supply resilience within the company’s Pharmaceutical Systems business.
Of the total investment, $100 million will go toward establishing Neopak™ syringe production at the Columbus facility, with initial supply targeted for mid-2026. The company will also use the funds to upgrade existing lines and expand capacity across the site to keep up with rising global demand for advanced injectable products. An additional $10 million will be directed toward enhancing cannula manufacturing, and together these projects are expected to support roughly 120 new roles.
Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) remains one of the world’s largest medical technology companies, with a broad focus on advancing healthcare through improvements in medical discovery, diagnostics, and the delivery of care.
23. General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD)
5-Year Average Dividend Growth Rate: 6.40%
On January 29, UBS lifted its price target on General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) to $393 from $388 while keeping a Neutral rating on the stock. The firm said demand is improving across most of the company’s businesses, with Gulfstream, Combat Systems, and Marine Systems standing out. That momentum is supporting free cash flow growth, even as capital spending rises sharply. UBS added that while General Dynamics has a long runway for earnings growth, margin trends and cautious guidance led the firm to leave its estimates largely unchanged, noting that broader market expectations may need to cool.
A day earlier, General Dynamics reported fourth-quarter profit and revenue that topped estimates, helped by strength in its combat and marine systems units. Even so, the company issued a full-year profit outlook that came in below Wall Street forecasts. Management expects annual earnings of $16.10 to $16.20 per share, compared with the consensus estimate of $17.29 per share, according to LSEG data.
During the post-earnings call, President Danny Deeb said the impact of U.S. tariffs in 2026 is expected to exceed the $41 million recorded in 2025, adding that those higher costs have already been factored into the company’s margin outlook.
The Marine Systems business continued to recover from earlier supply chain issues and labor shortages, with productivity improving during the quarter. Meanwhile, the Combat Systems segment benefited from rising international demand, particularly in Europe, as ongoing geopolitical tensions and global conflicts supported higher sales of vehicles, weapons, and munitions. Orders also remained strong, with quarterly bookings running at 1.6 times billings, highlighting the depth of General Dynamics’ backlog.
General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) is a global aerospace and defense contractor with a broad portfolio that also includes business aviation products and services.
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