Chip giant Intel
The company has paid steadily increasing dividends every year since 1992, occasionally skipping an increase but never shrinking or stopping the payouts. At the current yield, Intel is more generous than 22 of the 60 recommendations on our Income Investor newsletter service's scorecard, and it's comparable to such stodgy businesses as cereal mastodon Kellogg
Higher dividends are a priority for Intel, and payouts remain one of the company's favorite uses for its torrential cash flows. Intel spends a lot of money on share buybacks, including $1.8 billion in 2009 alone, but the $3.1 billion spent on divided payments that year absolutely dwarfs the repurchase figures. That's a trend that's likely to continue.
Keep in mind that Intel works in an industry that's focused on growth, where the preferred use of cash is hoarding it in a low-interest cash account, which makes these shareholder-friendly uses of cash that much more impressive. Like fellow semiconductor giant Texas Instruments
Fans of chief Intel rival Advanced Micro Devices
Have you ever seen a stronger combination of growth and dividends? Share your finds in the comments section below.