The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI 0.63%) index dropped 1.6% in February. Although some blue chip stocks slumped by double-digit percentages, 50% of its 30 constituents beat the index last month.
Coca-Cola (KO 1.01%) and Verizon Communications (VZ 0.74%) were the two top-performing Dow stocks in February, gaining 12.2% and 9.4%, respectively. Here's what propelled these stocks higher.
1. Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola stock was the best-performing Dow stock in February, thanks to strong earnings. The beverage giant reported a 6.4% year-over-year growth in revenue for its fourth quarter. Organic revenue, which excludes the impact of acquisitions, divestitures, and currency fluctuations, surged 14%. Coca-Cola's operating margin grew to 23.5% from 21%, and earnings per share (EPS) rose by 12%.
For the full year, Coca-Cola reported a 3% and 12% growth in revenue and organic revenue, respectively. Although its free cash flow was cut in half to $4.7 billion because of tax litigation, Coca-Cola announced a quarterly dividend hike of 5.2% last month, marking its 63rd consecutive annual dividend hike.
Coca-Cola's dividend streak is one of the biggest reasons the Dividend King remains a popular stock.
2. Verizon
Verizon's strong subscriber growth in 2024 and its ongoing efforts to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) and open up new revenue streams gave the telecom stock legs in February.
Last month, Verizon launched AI Connect, a suite of products and solutions for businesses to manage AI workloads at scale. Verizon estimates a total addressable market of over $40 billion, and believes its expanding fiber and programmable network is well positioned to fulfill secure network connectivity needs of AI data centers.
NYSE: VZ
Key Data Points
In 2024, Verizon added nearly 2.5 million postpaid mobility and broadband subscribers in total, grew its total wireless service revenue by 3%, generated $19.8 billion in free cash flow, and raised its dividend for the 18th consecutive year.
Although Verizon expects slightly slower wireless service revenue growth of 2% to 2.8% and FCF of $18 billion for 2025, investors continue to bet on its AI moves and a big dividend yield of 6.2%.
