Unlike most dividend and pharma stocks, Eli Lilly (LLY -1.81%) has a penchant for beating the market. Since the end of April 2020, its shares have climbed by 153%, trouncing the market's return of only 50% -- and shareholders who bought it a decade ago are sitting on even larger gains.

But with an extremely uncertain economic and market environment causing investors everywhere to take pause, it's very possible that the company's past performance might not see a repeat. Is this stock still worth buying for its dividend income, or is it too late?

Why this business will likely keep expanding

It's reasonable for investors to wonder whether Eli Lilly is a good pickup for its dividend payments, especially after its bad-looking first-quarter earnings report on April 27.

Like many of its competitors in healthcare, Eli Lilly's Q1 saw its revenue and earnings per share (EPS) drop sharply as its coronavirus therapeutics segment contracted. Sales fell by 11%, reaching approximately $7 billion for the quarter, and its EPS crashed by 38% to $1.49.

The good news is that the drop in coronavirus sales was fully expected, and revenue from its other medicines actually rose by 10% year over year. And besides, one quarter's results have little to do with the company's long-term appeal to dividend investors.

In that vein, its growth journey isn't about to end anytime soon. At the moment, the company has four programs waiting for regulators to weigh in regarding whether they can be commercialized. Of particular interest to investors are donanemab, its Alzheimer's disease candidate, and tirzepatide, which is seeking indications for diabetes and obesity.

Both of those programs would follow on the heels of recent launches targeting the same conditions by peers like Biogen and Novo Nordisk, so they'll be entering contested (and massive) markets if they are approved. There is a substantial opportunity, especially with tirzepatide, for the company's new entries to outperform its competitors and win market share.

But until that capability is proven, investors should keep their expectations in check; as a giant drug company, Eli Lilly is unlikely to see rapid revenue growth. Nonetheless, it has 21 programs in phase 3 clinical trials, so there are more than enough opportunities for moderate-pace growth in the coming years.

The payout is decent, but don't expect riches

So Eli Lilly will likely see its top and bottom lines continue to rise in the near term and beyond. In terms of its features as a dividend investment, it will likely continue being decent but not spectacular.

For reference, in the last 10 years, its dividend per share rose by an average of around 7% annually -- although since 2018, the growth rate has been roughly double that level. Today, its payout ratio stands at around 56%. Therefore, its current dividend is quite safe, and its average pace of dividend growth is easily sustainable moving forward.

The challenge for income investors is its low yield of 1.1%. And since it's not increasing enormously each year, you'd need to wait a really long time before the dividend growth amounted to much.

So should dividend-seeking investors pile into this pharma's shares? Considering the stock's relatively high price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 52 -- suggesting it's an expensive purchase -- it's hard to say yes to that question.

Though Eli Lilly is a pretty safe place to park your money and, in recent years, has even been a reliable outperformer of the market, its slow-growing dividend doesn't make it stand out compared to other dividend stocks, and there isn't much reason to expect that to change.

Yet, it may still be a solid option if you're in the market for a safe growth stock.