There is a slew of financial information available for investors of all types. The market contains thousands of stocks available for a wide variety of investing preferences. However, there happen to be a few premium stocks that should be considered by nearly all investors. These stocks have long track records of success and have rewarded their investors handsomely for decades on end. No matter if your investing timeline is 30 years or three years, these stocks deserve a place in nearly every investor’s portfolio.
The foundation of a great portfolio
Banking giant Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC) has emerged from the financial crisis in great shape. Full-year 2012 net income rose 19% year over year, and earnings for the entire year came in at a record $3.36 per share. Revenue for the fiscal year clocked in at over $86 billion, up 6% from the prior year.
McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) reported great full-year 2012 results of its own. Global comparable sales increased 3.1%, and consolidated revenues climbed 5% on a constant currency basis. Diluted earnings per share increased 5% as well on a constant currency basis to $5.36 per share.
Furthermore, the company’s future is bright. McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) has set ambitious goals for international expansion. McDonald’s is executing on its plan to open 225 to 250 new restaurants every year in China until it reaches its stated goal of 2,000 restaurants there by the end of 2013
Discount retailer Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) has a truly amazing story. In February, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) released its fiscal fourth-quarter and full-year fiscal 2013 results. The company reported full-year total revenue of $469 billion, an increase of 5% versus the prior year.
Stellar shareholder friendliness
Making things even better for investors is that these companies are extremely generous to their shareholders. Because these are mature and highly profitable businesses, each of these companies can easily afford to return a portion of their massive earnings to shareholders in the form of big share repurchases and hefty dividend yields.
When Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC) reported its financial results, the company also declared that it had increased its dividend payout 14%. The raise reflects the company’s confidence in its performance as well as its commitment to returning cash to shareholders.
McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) returned $5.5 billion to shareholders in the form of dividends and share buybacks last year. McDonald’s increased its dividend 10% last year, and will surely do so again in the fall, and the company has a strong record of dividend growth. McDonald’s current annualized payout is more than double what it was in 2007.
In 2012, Wal-Mart returned $13 billion to shareholders in the form of dividends and share buybacks. Furthermore, in conjunction with the quarterly and full-year results, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) announced it will increase its fiscal 2014 dividend by 18%. Wal-Mart has increased its dividend every year since the first declared dividend of $0.05 per share in March 1974. The dividend has doubled over the past five years.
Do your future a favor
These stocks provide returns no matter the prevailing economic environment. Their business models have wide ‘moats,’ a term frequently used by Warren Buffett to describe companies whose industries have wide barriers to entry. In addition, the products they sell are purchased in good or bad economies, and as a result, these stocks provide rising profits and dividend increases on an annual basis.
In fact, McDonald’s and Wal-Mart were the only two members of the Dow Jones Industrial Average to rise in price in 2008, when the United States was embroiled in the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. These three stocks aren’t the flashiest new ideas, and they don’t get a lot of attention from the financial media. What they can offer you, however, is a stable, dependable way to earn consistent returns over time and secure your financial future.
Robert Ciura owns shares of McDonald’s. The Motley Fool recommends McDonald’s and Wells Fargo. The Motley Fool owns shares of McDonald’s and Wells Fargo.
