Investing in dividend growth stocks is a great way to increase your dividend income over the years, even if those stocks don't offer a high yield right now. A company that has a propensity to increase its payouts may do so at varying rates, and investing in it while the yield is low could prove to be beneficial for investors in the long run.
Apple (AAPL +0.62%) and Microsoft (MSFT 0.80%) are a couple of tech giants that don't offer high yields, but they have been increasing their payouts and generate a boatload of cash. Both of these stocks could prove to be excellent dividend stocks to hold for the long term.
1. Apple
Apple has been increasing its dividend since 2013, so it'll be decades before the company could potentially hit 50 consecutive years of rate hikes and become a Dividend King. But given the company's impressive and constantly growing ecosystem, combined with fantastic financials, it seems probable that it will get there.
NASDAQ: AAPL
Key Data Points
For starters, the company doesn't pay as high of a dividend as it could. Its payout ratio is just 15% of earnings, and Apple could easily afford to pay more. It looks like a strategic move to be able to grow its dividend without potentially disrupting its growth initiatives. In May, the company raised its dividend by just 1 cent.
Sometimes companies offer too high of a dividend or make aggressive increases to it, and then it can prove to be burdensome later on, such as when the economy isn't doing too well. Apple's low payout ratio puts it in an excellent position to balance both growth and dividends. Although its 0.5% dividend yield is modest and well below the S&P 500 average of 1.6%, it would be a shock not to see the company continue to raise its dividend for the foreseeable future.
Even if the company's foray into augmented reality and potentially even the metaverse proves to be underwhelming, Apple has a strong core business to fall back on, centered around its iPhones and Mac computers. Over the trailing 12 months, even amid inflation, the business generated free cash flow totaling $97.5 billion (it only had to pay out $14.9 billion of that to cover its dividend).
It's difficult to forecast what will happen over the next 40 years, but Apple is one of the safest businesses to own over the long haul. With a strong brand and a devoted fanbase, it's a business that should continue to thrive, and dividend increases will likely follow.
2. Microsoft
The tech world is big enough for both Apple and rival Microsoft to dominate for decades. And rather than trying to pick a winner between these two competitors, it may not be a bad idea to simply invest in both of them. Microsoft has its own ecosystem of products and services and has demonstrated that it can also make for an excellent long-term income investment.
NASDAQ: MSFT
Key Data Points
Microsoft has been raising its dividend payments since 2010, making its streak slightly longer than Apple's. But it, too, is an attractive dividend growth stock to own. Its payout ratio is higher at 24%, but not by much. Free cash flow over the trailing 12 months has totaled $59.6 billion, which is more than three times what Microsoft has paid out in dividends during that time frame -- just under $19 billion.
The company has been more aggressive with respect to growth than Apple, announcing in 2022 plans to acquire video game maker Activision Blizzard for $69 billion and also investing $13 billion into ChatGPT-maker OpenAI. This is where having a low payout ratio can help Microsoft's dividend, because even though the company may spend billions to fund future growth opportunities, there's still a significant buffer between its free cash flow and its dividend payments to ensure the payout can continue growing. And by acquiring businesses and getting deeper into artificial intelligence and gaming, it can further diversify its business, making it stronger and potentially more insulated to the effects of a downturn in the economy.
At 0.8%, Microsoft's yield is a little higher than Apple's, but the company could have room to offer a better dividend than it currently does. It's clear that it is aiming to grow its dividend at a sustainable rate, which is why there's potential for it to continue doing so for decades. On top of being an excellent growth investment, Microsoft can be a top dividend stock to own as well.
