Most companies in the tech sector don't offer generous dividends. Instead, they prefer to invest their cash profits in other things, such as manufacturing facilities or ambitious research projects.
The average dividend yield among tech stocks with a market cap of at least $200 million is 0.8%. The financial sector's average yield stands at 2.5% today, and the payouts in real estate stocks are a hefty 4%. Many income investors skip the tech-oriented corner of Wall Street, hunting for richer yields in other sectors.
However, there are exceptions to pretty much every rule of thumb. Here, I have tracked down a handful of generous dividend payers with deep roots in the metaphorical (and, in one case, literal) Silicon Valley. These cash-sharing tech titans, as different as a trio can be, all present great income investment opportunities in the summer of 2023, each for its own unique reasons.
IBM yield: 4.6%
Let's start with the most classic high-yield tech giant. International Business Machines (IBM -1.05%) comes with a rich dividend yield, 30 years of uninterrupted annual payout increases, torrential cash flows, and incredible business prospects in the artificial intelligence (AI) market.
I know -- that's a lot of excellence to take in all at once. But it all boils down to a cash-machine business with a firm commitment to sharing its cash profits with shareholders. The last decade has been painful as Big Blue reshaped its one-stop-IT-shop business model into a sharp focus on cloud computing and AI services. As a result, IBM's share price is low, the effective dividend yield is beefy, and the company is perfectly positioned to make some noise as everyone is looking for world-class AI tools.
IBM will leave the consumer-oriented AI market to others, doubling down on business-to-business services instead. The Watson division was researching top-shelf AI technologies long before it was cool. Remember how the company's Deep Blue system defeated reigning chess world champion Garry Kasparov in 1997? Chess computers crush the best humans routinely nowadays, but it was a big deal 26 years ago. And IBM's AI research has only grown from there.
How deep is IBM's commitment to robust dividend checks? Imagine investing $10,000 in IBM stock 20 years ago. That position would be worth $18,610 today based on pure share price moves. But if you reinvested the dividends along the way, you'd nearly triple your return with a $33,100 IBM investment in your pocket:
So IBM looks ready to take a leading position in the rapidly evolving AI market, creating a sharp break from the slow growth in recent years. At the same time, the company is likely to continue its shareholder-friendly dividend policy. I don't think Big Blue's stock will be cheap much longer, and this might be your last chance to lock in that juicy dividend yield for the long haul.
Intel yield: 1.4%
Semiconductor giant Intel (INTC -9.20%) doesn't fit IBM's platonic ideal of a perfect dividend stock. The company cut its quarterly payout by two-thirds earlier this year, so there's no decades-long winning streak of relentless boosts.
But Intel's dark dividend cloud has a silver lining. Chipzilla is funneling cash into new and expended chip-making facilities these days, not only supporting its own semiconductor designs but also aiming to earn a leading role among third-party chip foundries. That's where the missing dividend funds and several innovative fundraising ideas are going.
Gigantic tax subsidies in places like Oregon and Germany support manufacturing plant projects. A $30 billion partnership with asset manager Brookfield provides funding for facilities in Arizona. Intel is digging deep to finance a tremendously ambitious infrastructure expansion program at a time when the world's limited chip-making capacity meets surging demand from self-driving vehicles, AI systems, memory-hungry 5G phones, and more. Intel's mushrooming chip-making assets should benefit from all these demand-boosting secular trends.
Intel is taking a sharp turn into a massive business opportunity, paving the way to renewed cash flow growth and richer dividends in the future. Getting in on the ground floor with Intel could set you up for game-changing dividend growth in the long run.
Universal Display yield: 1%
I'll admit that Universal Display (OLED 1.10%) is an unusual pick in this context. The technology developer with patent-protected solutions for organic light-emitting diode (OLED) screens and lighting panels looks like a traditional growth stock, and the dividend yield seems small at first glance.
But I think we're looking at the early days of a long dividend-growth streak here, kind of like buying IBM stock in the mid-1990s. Universal Display is growing its quarterly payout checks by leaps and bounds, moving from $0.03 per share per quarter at the policy launch in 2017 to $0.35 today.
You see OLED screens everywhere nowadays. Compared to old-school LCD panels, the screens come with unbeatable image quality and low energy requirements. OLED displays can also pull off unique tricks, such as transparent and bendable screen panels. Some of those features are still destined for pricey, high-end equipment, but OLED technology is already common in mid-range smartphones. And Universal Display takes a cut of every square inch of OLED panels hitting the store shelves.
Universal Display's trailing revenues have nearly doubled since the dividend payouts started. Earnings are actually up by 100% over the same period. The dividend payouts are soaring, but there's plenty of room for future increases. Universal Display used only 36% of its net income to finance dividend checks in the first half of 2023.
Yes, Universal Display spends more money on research and development than on dividend payments, like every fast-growing tech company. But the company already has a history of pouring a growing amount of cash directly into shareholders' pockets and a stated commitment to keep doing it.
Where have I heard that idea before? At IBM's headquarters, maybe?
