Dividend Kings of 2026

Companies that pay -- and then grow -- their dividends every year generally have the sort of characteristics investors should look for:

• Durable competitive moats that help them generate steady profits year after year
• Some ability to grow earnings per share over the long term
• Prudent board members and management who prioritize returning excess profits not needed for reinvestment back to shareholders

What is a Dividend King?

Many investors are familiar with the Dividend Aristocrats®. (The term Dividend Aristocrats® is a registered trademark of Standard & Poor's Financial Services, LLC.) These stocks are members of the S&P 500 that have increased their dividends for at least 25 consecutive years.

But there's an even more elite group of dividend stocks that doesn't receive as much attention. Dividend Kings don't have to be members of the S&P 500, but they must reach an ultramarathon-like dividend streak -- at least 50 consecutive years of payout growth. Here's what you need to know about the Dividend Kings and how they can fit into your investment portfolio.

2026 Dividend Kings

These 56 stocks qualified as Dividend Kings as of Dec. 17, 2025, including two "unofficial" Dividend Kings that qualify depending on how you interpret dividend growth.

The industrial and consumer goods sectors make up more than half of the 2025 Dividend Kings list. This shouldn't be a surprise. Companies in these sectors tend to pay dividends and raise their prices with inflation, and many have also been in operation for a long time. The list breaks down as follows:

• 16 industrial companies
• 16 consumer goods
• 10 utility stocks
• 4 healthcare stocks
• 6 financial stocks
• 1 energy stock
• 1 materials stock
• 1 real estate stock
• 1 tech stock

There aren't any exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that focus exclusively on Dividend Kings. However, the ProShares S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF (NOBL +1.57%) owns shares of all Dividend Aristocrats®.

Dividend King changes in 2026

Companies that make this list don't often lose their status; the things that make a company strong enough to make it 50 years with annual dividend increases are usually very durable. Plus, there's tremendous pressure on companies that have increased their dividends for 50-plus years to keep the streak going. No CEO wants to be known as the leader who messed up such an impressive dividend track record.

Two companies achieved Dividend King status in 2025: RLI Corp., with its 50th-straight annual dividend increase in February, and MGE Energy, which joined the club with its 50th in August.

These stocks lost Dividend King status

Despite management's efforts (or often because of them), not all companies stay on the list. In 2024, two then-Dividend Kings cut their payouts, losing their status.

Leggett & Platt (LEG +2.90%) was the first, slashing its dividend in April 2024 and ending a 52-year run of dividend growth. 3M (MMM +1.45%) cut its payout in May 2024 and brought its six-decade dividend growth streak to an end.

In the case of both companies, bloated expenses, weak growth, and a number of acquisitions that haven't gone well played a role in the weakening of financial results and eventually led to a need to cut the payout. 3M also faced billions in losses from product liability lawsuits that played a significant role.

A note on two "unofficial" Dividend Kings

Canadian Utilities and Tootsie Roll Industries are on this list, but for slightly different reasons. Both have characteristics that make them Dividend Kings, though some investors may argue they make the cut on a technicality or two.

Canadian Utilities is certainly a King if you're a Canadian investor; however, the changes in foreign exchange rates have made the effective dividend paid to U.S. investors fall at times in the past. We don't want to shortchange the company or our Canadian investors because of this. The dividends per share -- in Canadian dollars -- have indeed increased for 53 years in a row.

Tootsie Roll is a little more complex. To start, the company has a long history of paying a dividend, but the $0.09 quarterly cash portion of the dividend has remained unchanged for years.

Its payout has grown via the 3% stock dividend it has also paid every year for the past six decades. So, as long as the stock price increases in value, the total dividends paid grow. We thought this quirk was worth explaining in detail. It can be argued that maybe it isn't a King but certainly worthy of consideration for dividend investors.

Likely Dividend King winners in 2026

Three key factors could affect many stocks in 2026, including several of the Dividend Kings:

1. Inflation
2. Interest rates
3. A possible recession tied to the two factors above and deteriorating

These factors could benefit some stocks but hurt others. Here are three Dividend Kings that could be winners in 2026:

Future Dividend Kings

Residential and commercial water management company Pentair (PNR +3.00%) is on the cusp of joining the Dividend Kings, having announced its 49th straight annual dividend increase in July 2025. That puts it on track to join this group in mid-2026.

Several other large, well-known companies are also primed to join the Dividend Kings list in the next half-decade. We'll update the list as they move closer.

How to identify future Dividend Kings

A good place to start is by looking at other dividend growth indexes, such as those that track stocks that have increased their dividends every year for 10, 20, or even more years, including those found in the ProShares S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF (NOBL +1.57%).

The point is, to get to 50 years, you have to get through a lot of other years first, and only the strongest survive and thrive across that many economic, technological, and societal changes. It's essential to find companies that have already built strong, durable, and resilient businesses with long track records of growing earnings per share -- key factors to look for.

Pros and cons of investing in Dividend Kings

Here are some of the reasons investors should consider Dividend Kings:

• Proven businesses across many economic cycles
• History of adapting to disruption and new markets
• Track record of earnings growth that funds higher dividends
• Often lower volatility, making it easier to hold through market downturns

There are also reasons to be cautious:

• Like other dividend stocks, future dividend growth is not guaranteed.
• Many Dividend Kings have underperformed the stock market's total returns despite dividend growth.
• Sometimes, management may ignore ongoing issues and keep raising the payout, resulting in future cuts and big losses (see 3M and Walgreens for recent examples).

Factors to consider when choosing Dividend Kings

If you're interested in investing in a Dividend King, you're probably looking for a company that can keep growing its dividend for years to come. As such, one of the most important factors to consider when choosing a Dividend King to buy is its financial health.

Be sure the dividend is supported by strong free cash flow in excess of the total dividend payment. Steady and growing earnings per share and a solid balance sheet are also important factors to ensure management can keep raising its dividend.

Investors also want to assess the long-term health of the business. Does the business have a competitive advantage that will protect it in economic downturns? Is the industry it operates in growing or declining?

On top of that, investors will want to assess a Dividend King just like any other stock. Since most long-time dividend payers are value stocks, it makes sense to ensure the stock trades for an attractive valuation.

How to invest in Dividend Kings

1. Open your brokerage app: Log in to your brokerage account where you handle your investments.
2. Search for the stock: Enter the ticker or company name into the search bar to bring up the stock's trading page.
3. Decide how many shares to buy: Consider your investment goals and how much of your portfolio you want to allocate to this stock.
4. Select order type: Choose between a market order to buy at the current price or a limit order to specify the maximum price you're willing to pay.
5. Submit your order: Confirm the details and submit your buy order.
6. Review your purchase: Check your portfolio to ensure your order was filled as expected and adjust your investment strategy accordingly.

Related investing topics

Why invest in Dividend Kings?

Dividend Kings aren't necessarily a good fit for every investor, but their long records of growing payouts are often underpinned by good businesses that are worth owning. A few key reasons:

• Dividend Kings can be a great component of retirement portfolios or for investors looking for reliable income.
• Most of these stocks offer higher dividend yields than the average yield of S&P 500 members.
• Their consistency in paying and increasing dividend payouts can also provide a measure of confidence for people living on the income generated by the dividend stocks they own.

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