Dividend stocks represent truly passive income. Once you put a few of these investments in your portfolio, you can sit back and collect the quarterly payouts without any further effort. Better yet, you can choose to automatically reinvest those dividends, amplifying your long-term returns as you steadily build up a bigger position over time.
There are attractive dividend stocks to suit every investing style, too, making it relatively easy to find one that fits right into your portfolio. With that broad opportunity in mind, let's look at a few good reasons to buy PepsiCo (PEP -0.62%), Walmart (WMT -0.08%), and Garmin (GRMN 0.29%) stocks.
1. PepsiCo
PepsiCo stock hasn't really participated in the 2023 market rally, and that creates a compelling buy opportunity for patient investors. The beverage and snack giant is enjoying strong growth today, after all, as organic sales are up a blazing 14% in the first half of the year.
Earnings are rising even faster, thanks to Pepsi's pricing power and steady flow of innovative product releases. "Our business momentum remains strong," CEO Ramon Laguarta said in a mid-July press release .
It hasn't been all good news for this business. Sales volumes are weak right now as consumers respond to rising prices and higher inflation overall. Yet Pepsi was still able to boost its annual growth and earnings outlook in mid-July. Income investors will be even happier to count on a rising dividend payment that's now in its 51st year of consecutive annual growth.
2. Walmart
Walmart has been raising its dividend for over 50 years, and there are good reasons to expect accelerating growth in 2024 and beyond. Sales trends have been excellent, as comparable-store growth landed at 6% in the most recent quarter.
The retailing giant boosted its profitability at the same time, thanks in part to cost cuts and fewer promotions through mid-2023. It helps that the chain is popular with consumers. Customer traffic was up a healthy 3% in the core U.S. market last quarter.
Walmart's cash flow has been the standout metric so far in 2023. Operating cash flow is soaring as the company finds ways to pare back on inventory holdings without harming the shopping experience.
Dividend fans know that this cash-flow spike will support higher income payments over time. Watch these returns be amplified by Walmart's generous stock buyback spending, which crossed $1.2 billion over the past six months.
3. Garmin
Well-protected dividends are hard to find in the tech world, but Garmin is an exception to this rule. The GPS hardware specialist has a large, diverse portfolio of products that includes wearable fitness devices, smartwatches, and aviation and boat navigation platforms.
Demand tends to rise in several of these areas to offset weakness that might show up in others. That's how Garmin achieved a solid 6% overall sales increase in the most recent quarter. Annual revenue has been steadily marching higher, too, apart from a slight growth hangover following the pandemic surge.
GRMN Revenue (TTM) data by YCharts.
Garmin doesn't boast a long track record of steadily rising dividends like the other two companies on this list. But it pays a meaty yield today of nearly 3%.
The company's unusually strong profit margin of 20% also reflects its brand power in a competitive industry. For growth stock investors seeking a bit of income, this stock could be the perfect portfolio addition.
