The importance of dividend stocks cannot be denied, even in today’s market environment, which is dominated by AI stocks. The S&P Dividend Aristocrats Index, which tracks the performance of companies with at least 25 consecutive years, is down by over 4% since the start of 2025, compared with a much harsher decline of 13% in the broader market.
Dividend stocks become increasingly popular when companies grow their payouts regularly. Historically, dividend growth stocks have performed better than their peers and have shown less volatility. The dividend growth track records, backed by solid fundamentals, offer reliable investment options to income investors. According to a report by Nuveen, dividend growth stocks have outperformed other asset classes with less risk. The report revealed that companies with strong dividend growth streaks delivered an annual average return of over 10% between 1973 to 2024, as compared to a 4.2% return of non-dividend paying stocks. During this period, dividend cutters delivered a nearly -2% return.
Though dividend stocks also do not come with a promise and can also fluctuate, these stocks have made significant contributions to the market’s overall return over the decades. According to a report by Hartford Funds, dividends and reinvested dividends represented nearly 40% of the market’s return from 1930 to 2024, with capital appreciation making up the rest. The report also highlighted their significance when the economy was in the trenches. The data mentioned that during the 1940s, 1960s, and 1970s, the total returns were lower than 10%, however, dividends represented a larger portion of the market’s performance.
According to Jerome Powell, inflation in the US is likely to ramp up because of the President’s sweeping tariffs. Here are some comments from Powell:
“We face a highly uncertain outlook with elevated risks of both higher unemployment and higher inflation. While tariffs are highly likely to generate at least a temporary rise in inflation, it is also possible that the effects could be more persistent.”
While this presents an overall uncertain environment for an investment landscape, dividend investors are in the catbird seat, as dividend stocks have historically been successful in protecting capital against inflation. WisdomTree reported that from 1957 through 2023, dividends have grown by an average of 5.7%, compared with a 3.67% growth in inflation. The report also mentioned that over the past 68 years, dividend payouts have only decreased in six years, and in just one of those years, they dropped by more than 5%. In comparison, stock prices experienced declines in 18 years during the same period, with the worst drop exceeding 40% and an average decline of more than 11%. Stock prices have proven to be more than twice as volatile as the underlying dividend cash flows. This is because market sentiment often causes short-term fluctuations in stock prices, whereas dividend cash flows, which reflect the company’s long-term value, are less volatile. Given this, we will take a look at some of the best dividend kings for safe dividend growth.
Is S&P Global Inc. (SPGI) the Best Dividend King to Buy for Safe Dividend Growth?
A group of analysts studying data on a large monitor.
For this article, we scanned the list of dividend kings, which are the companies that have raised their payouts for 50 years or more. From that list, we picked 12 companies with the highest 5-year annual average dividend growth rates. The stocks are ranked in ascending order of their annual average dividend growth in the past five years.
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5-Year Average Annual Dividend Growth Rate: 10.11%
S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) is a New York-based company that offers services in financial information and analytics. The company relies heavily on a subscription-based revenue model, with over 75% of its income generated from recurring sources. This setup offers strong financial stability, even during times of market volatility—particularly in the debt issuance space, where its credit ratings division remains a core revenue driver. Additional contributions from its Market Intelligence unit, which provides financial data and analytics, along with its Indices and Commodity Insights segments, help support a steady stream of income.
In the fourth quarter of 2024, S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) posted a 14% year-over-year increase in revenue, while adjusted earnings per share rose by 20% to $3.77. The company also bolstered investor confidence with an optimistic outlook for the year ahead and the announcement of a new share repurchase program. Revenue from its Ratings segment jumped 31% year-over-year, reflecting a broader push beyond traditional investment-grade and high-yield debt into other loan categories and structured finance products—further enhancing revenue diversification.
S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) also reported a strong liquidity position. For the full year, operating cash flow climbed to $5.7 billion from $3.7 billion in 2023, while free cash flow surged to $5.27 billion from $3.2 billion the previous year. This solid cash performance enabled the company to return $1.1 billion to shareholders through dividends. It pays a quarterly dividend of $0.96 per share and offers a dividend yield of 0.85%, as of April 4. With 53 consecutive years of dividend increases, SPGI is one of the best dividend kings to invest in.
Overall, SPGI ranks6th on our list of the best dividend kings for safe dividend growth. While we acknowledge the potential of SPGI as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some deeply undervalued dividend stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for a deeply undervalued dividend stock that is more promising than SPGI but that trades at 10 times its earnings and grows its earnings at double digit rates annually, check out our report about the dirt cheap dividend stock.
