Now that we're well into October, the clock is ticking for 2026 dividend raises. The many companies that habitually hike their payouts every year have already done so, meaning that most of the expected 2026 increases have already been declared.
Most, but not all. Lately, we've seen a few bumps, large and small, from prominent names on the stock market. So let's take a look at the recent dividend raises from McDonald's (MCD +0.79%), Philip Morris International (PM +2.79%), and T-Mobile US (TMUS +2.27%).
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1. McDonald's
Eternal rival Burger King's mascot might wear a crown, but McDonald's is the fast-food purveyor that just ascended to royalty.
With its latest quarterly dividend raise, declared last month, the company became a Dividend King -- one of the very rare U.S. stocks that has pushed its payout higher at least once annually for a minimum of 50 consecutive years. Raise No. 50 was a nearly 4% increase to $1.93 per share.
But that didn't erase the fact that its share price was trading at multiyear lows, its latest fundamentals weren't inspiring, and its menu hasn't registered many standout hits lately.
However, shortly after those results were published, McDonald's announced its "NEXT" strategy to improve the situation. It's committing $8.5 billion to an effort that aims to take meaningful market share from rivals in certain categories, boost profitability, and lift the efficiency of its restaurants to the tune of $100,000, on average, for each one.
This isn't the first time McDonald's has embarked on a pricey quest to revive its operations.
Recent history suggests these moves are typically successful: one effort in 2003 and a follow-up in 2015 introduced major changes to operations and the menu, and both strengthened the fundamentals and the share price. I feel NEXT is similar, as a very focused program that is huge in scope and likely to have an impact. Given that, this stock looks attractive at the current beaten-down price.
And the upcoming dividend is juicy. McDonald's freshly raised payout is to be dispensed on Dec. 15 to investors of record as of Dec. 1. It would yield 3.3% at the most recent closing share price.
NYSE: MCD
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2. Philip Morris International
Tobacco sector mainstay Philip Morris might not (yet) be a Dividend King, but we can consider it a high-ranking prince. The company has distributed a shareholder payout every quarter since becoming an independent entity in 2008. In a move that's entirely in character, it announced a nearly 9% dividend raise last month to a new quarterly disbursement of $1.60 per share.
Tobacco companies are famously profitable and effective at generating mountains of cash. But since their classic products, cigarettes, are increasingly unpopular, Philip Morris and its peers are attempting to pivot away from them into alternatives -- vapes, oral nicotine pouches, and the like.
For the company, the transformation isn't happening overnight. In its second quarter, combustibles accounted for 58% of net revenue, down only slightly from 59% in the same period of 2025. More positively, the shipment volume of all smoke-free products rose by 7.5% to over 48 billion equivalent units, against the 1% increase of traditional cigarettes, to 205 billion.
Philip Morris always has the power to raise prices on those products; this, combined with volume growth in smoke-free goods, pushed total net revenue up by more than 10% to almost $11.2 billion. Headline net income slipped by 7% to $2.8 billion, but this was mainly because of the deconsolidation of a Canadian business.
I like that Philip Morris is growing smoke-free volume while maintaining a solid foundation with the cigarette business. The fundamentals should continue to rise, although probably not at exciting rates. Investors who aren't bothered by owning sin stocks can't really go wrong with this one.
Philip Morris's enhanced dividend is to be paid on Oct. 26 to shareholders of record as of Oct. 2. It would yield 3.2%.
NYSE: PM
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3. T-Mobile US
The most substantial dividend raise from our triad belongs to veteran telecom T-Mobile US. Toward the end of September, the "Un-carrier" hiked its quarterly distribution by 15% to $1.17 per share.
The company is a dividend payer-come-lately, having initiated the dividend in late 2023. In a way, it's playing catch-up with AT&T and Verizon, both of which have paid high-yield dividends for years. As mobile service is basically a commodity these days -- with millions of consumers owning smartphones -- it's a high cash-flow business with limited opportunities for meaningful growth.
It's admirable, then, that T-Mobile US's management has been able to improve key fundamentals at impressive rates, fueled by a mix of acquisitions and effective upselling of premium subscription tiers.
For example, revenue from postpaid (i.e., contract) customers leaped 13% higher year over year in the second quarter despite slowing growth in account additions. And recent asset buys helped boost per-share earnings by 5%.
There's a threat looming, however, and it might be substantial. Space/telecom/tech conglomerate Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, seems to be targeting the terrestrial market with its Starlink unit. SpaceX is a huge, ultra-ambitious company flush with cash from its recent IPO, so it could give the three telecom incumbents quite the run for their money.
Compounding that, even with that dividend raise, T-Mobile US's yield (at 2.8%, on the most recent closing stock price) isn't competitive to AT&T's 4.5% or Verizon's 6.2%. So while it's an impressive company in numerous ways, to me, that yield isn't high enough to be tempting, and competition will only get hotter. I wouldn't be a buyer of the stock.
T-Mobile US's next payout will occur on Dec. 10 for investors of record as of Nov. 25.
