In many investors' minds, tech stocks and stable dividends don't exactly seem to go hand in hand. But the technology sector actually contains some of the best dividend stocks our market has to offer.
So we asked three Motley Fool contributors to each find a high-yield tech stock they believe you would do well to consider buying now. Read on to learn why they chose Corning (GLW 6.39%), Telkom Indonesia (TLK 1.99%), and Verizon (VZ -1.20%).
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Fresh off yet another dividend hike
Steve Symington (Corning): I most recently singled out Corning as a promising high-yield tech stock at the start of this year, noting it offered a solid 2.4% yield at the time despite the stock's nearly 80% rise since the glass technologist implemented a four-year strategy and capital allocation framework in late 2015. Of course, it certainly helped that Corning had simultaneously boosted its dividend payout by 50% through the first three years of that framework.
As it turns out, Corning has offered more of the same strength since then. Shares have climbed 13% so far in 2019 as of this writing, helped by an 11% single-day pop after its fantastic fourth-quarter 2018 report in late January. In that report, Corning saw revenue climb a better-than-expected 15%, to $3.08 billion, while core earnings per share soared 28% to $0.59. Management, for its part, not only credited the company's ability to leverage first-half investments in added manufacturing capacity to meet demand, but also told investors to expect the momentum of its underlying business to continue into 2019.
If that wasn't enough, in early February Corning followed by raising its dividend yet again, this time with an 11% increase to bring its quarterly payout to $0.20 per share.
That means Corning stock still offers a 2.4% annual yield for investors who buy today. And if the company is indeed able to sustain its momentum and build upon its decades of industry leadership going forward, I suspect there will be many more all-time highs and dividend hikes to come.
Check out the latest earnings call transcripts for Corning, Verizon, and other companies we cover.
Take a look at this distant giant
Anders Bylund (Telkom Indonesia): The largest telecommunications company in Indonesia may not be a terribly familiar name to American investors, but you might want to get acquainted with this high-quality dividend titan.
The company was dragged into an intense price war in recent years, driving foreign investors even further away. Telkom's stock retreated from $36 per share to $26 per share over the last 20 months. That drop created a tempting buy-in window while driving Telkom's dividend yield all the way up to 3.6%.
This stock trades at the bargain-basement valuation of 17 times forward earnings and 4.2 times its considerable book value. Telkom's balance sheet is rock solid -- rated higher than the Indonesian government's by credit ratings company Moody's.
Telkom has largely settled its domestic price wars and may turn next to international expansion. Meanwhile, the company is launching communications satellites and laying down transpacific fiber-optic network lines in order to improve its own (and Indonesia's) connection to the global internet.
This is a top-quality business with a tremendously stable business model, currently on sale due to temporary concerns about competition. That spells "opportunity" for vigilant income investors.
This dividend tech play will be a 5G winner
Chris Neiger (Verizon): Yes, Verizon has made some mistakes lately, particularity with its media business. But Verizon is moving on from some of its missteps and has a new opportunity to focus on what it does best: building out great cellular networks.
The company will launch its first-ever 5G network in Minneapolis and Chicago next month, making it one of the first U.S. carriers to bring 5G to market. Why does this matter? Because more than 40% of the world will have access to 5G coverage by 2024 and Verizon's management thinks 5G will bring $12.3 trillion in global economic output by 2035.
Not only that, but 5G will help usher in greater levels of connectivity, allowing everything from self-driving vehicles to smart cities to come online. Verizon plans to launch 5G in 30 cities by the end of this year, and the company has said that the new network will start contributing meaningfully to its growth by 2021.
Verizon says its 5G network will be about 20 times faster than 4G LTE networks. And once they start coming online across the country, it could give the company a significant advantage over its competitors, much like its 4G network has done over the past few years.
On top of its leadership position in the 5G space, investors will be pleased to know that Verizon pays a hefty 4.15% yield right now. As the company looks ahead to its future, 5G will be a massive part of it. And investors looking for a solid dividend tech play would be smart to give this company a second look.
