Updated on October 8th, 2026 by Nikolaos Sismanis
The Dividend Champions are securities with 25+ years of consecutive dividend increases.
Our Sure Analysis Research Database currently includes 173 securities that meet this high bar.
The Dividend Champions list is an excellent place to find high quality dividend growth stocks to buy and hold for the long run.
The free Dividend Champions spreadsheet below gives you the power to quickly sort all Dividend Champions by metrics that matter like:
- Dividend Risk Score
- Expected total return
- Buy/Hold/Sell rating
- Percent Fair Value
- And many, many more
Notes: Our Dividend Champions spreadsheet is updated daily. It is powered by data from the Sure Analysis Research Database. See here for a glossary of our metrics.
Note On Aristocrats Versus Champions: Dividend Aristocrats require 25+ years of rising dividends and to be in the S&P 500 and to meet certain size and liquidity requirements. All Aristocrats are Champions, but not all Champions are Aristocrats.
Keep reading to see our Top 10 Dividend Champions now analyzed in detail. Our Top 10 Rankings have the following criteria:
- 25+ Years of rising dividends (a Dividend Champion)
- U.S. stocks only (no REITs/MLPs/BDCs, or international stocks)
- Dividend Risk Score of A or B (high level of dividend safety)
- Rank by expected total return (#1 has highest expected total return)
Table of Contents
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- Top Dividend Champion #10: Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP)
- Top Dividend Champion #9: H2O America (HTO)
- Top Dividend Champion #8: PepsiCo, Inc. (PEP)
- Top Dividend Champion #7: Stepan Company (SCL)
- Top Dividend Champion #6: Stryker Corporation (SYK)
- Top Dividend Champion #5: Brown & Brown, Inc. (BRO)
- Top Dividend Champion #4: Badger Meter, Inc. (BMI)
- Top Dividend Champion #3: FactSet Research Systems Inc. (FDS)
- Top Dividend Champion #2: Albemarle Corporation (ALB)
- Top Dividend Champion #1: The Andersons, Inc. (ANDE)
Top Dividend Champion #10: Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP)
- Expected total return: 17.2%
- Dividend Risk Score: A
Automatic Data Processing is a leading provider of payroll, human-capital-management, and benefits-administration services to employers around the world.
Its subscription-heavy model, high client retention, and substantial client-funds balances make revenue and cash flow comparatively predictable.
For the fiscal 2026 fourth quarter, revenue increased 7% to $5.5 billion, while adjusted net income rose 14% to $1.1 billion.
Adjusted earnings per share advanced 17% to $2.64, and adjusted operating margin expanded 140 basis points to 25.1%.
Full-year revenue reached $21.9 billion, with adjusted earnings per share of $11.12 and Employer Services new-business bookings rising 6% to $2.2 billion.
Management expects fiscal 2027 revenue growth of 5% to 6% and adjusted earnings-per-share growth of 9% to 11%, supported by productivity gains and higher client-funds interest income.
Retention remained strong at 92.1%, reinforcing the durability of ADP’s installed client base through economic cycles.
ADP increased its quarterly dividend 10% to $1.70 in November 2025, marking its 51st consecutive year of dividend growth.
That streak has spanned multiple labor cycles, while the recurring nature of payroll processing continues to support an A Dividend Risk Score.
Top Dividend Champion #9: H2O America (HTO)
- Expected total return: 17.3%
- Dividend Risk Score: A
H2O America, formerly SJW Group, operates regulated water and wastewater utilities in California, Connecticut, Maine, and Texas.
Essential services and regulated infrastructure investment support recurring demand, although rate approvals and financing costs affect earnings.
Second-quarter 2026 revenue increased 6% to $210.5 million, primarily from approved rate increases.
Adjusted net income rose 17% to $30.7 million, but adjusted earnings per share declined to $0.72 from $0.75 because equity issuance increased the share count.
On October 1, its Texas subsidiaries completed the Quadvest acquisition, more than doubling H2O America’s Texas water and wastewater connections.
The company expects Texas to represent 26% of total customers by 2029, compared with 8% before the acquisition.
The separate Cibolo Valley wastewater acquisition received regulatory approval in September and is expected to close on November 1.
Its July guidance of $3.08 to $3.18 in adjusted 2026 earnings per share covers the standalone business and excludes both acquisitions and their financing.
Management expects acquisition financing to dilute near-term earnings before new rates can recover the acquired assets’ costs.
H2O America pays a quarterly dividend of $0.44, or $1.76 annually, and has increased its dividend for 58 consecutive years.
Regulated cash flows underpin the payout, while acquisition integration and timely rate recovery remain key execution risks.
Deep Dive: Click here to download (for free) our most recent 3-Page Sure Analysis PDF report on H2O America (HTO).
Top Dividend Champion #8: PepsiCo, Inc. (PEP)
- Expected total return: 18.0%
- Dividend Risk Score: A
PepsiCo is a global food-and-beverage company whose brands include Pepsi, Gatorade, Lay’s, Doritos, Quaker, and SodaStream.
Its portfolio, distribution network, and geographic reach provide diversification, although changing consumer preferences and input-cost inflation remain important risks.
Second-quarter 2026 net revenue increased 6.4% to $24.18 billion, while organic revenue grew 2.4%.
Core earnings per share rose 4% to $2.20, despite a 40-basis-point decline in core operating margin to 16.8%.
PepsiCo Foods North America revenue declined 2%, but PepsiCo Beverages North America grew 7%, helped by acquisitions and organic growth.
International operations were stronger, with each segment producing solid reported revenue growth and several regions delivering organic volume gains.
Management reaffirmed its 2026 outlook for 2% to 4% organic revenue growth and 4% to 6% core constant-currency earnings-per-share growth.
The company is also emphasizing affordability, portion control, functional products, zero-sugar beverages, and productivity improvements to strengthen growth and margins.
PepsiCo expects to return about $8.9 billion to shareholders during 2026, including approximately $7.9 billion through dividends.
The annualized dividend is $5.92 per share, and PepsiCo has increased its dividend for 54 consecutive years.
That exceptional record, broad brand portfolio, and resilient cash generation support its A Dividend Risk Score.
Deep Dive: Click here to download (for free) our most recent 3-Page Sure Analysis PDF report on PepsiCo (PEP).
Top Dividend Champion #7: Stepan Company (SCL)
- Expected total return: 19.2%
- Dividend Risk Score: A
Stepan manufactures specialty and intermediate chemicals used in consumer, industrial, agricultural, oilfield, and construction applications.
Its Surfactants, Polymers, and Specialty Products segments supply relatively small but important ingredients that can create sticky customer relationships.
Second-quarter 2026 net sales rose 15% to $684.1 million, aided by 6% organic volume growth.
Adjusted net income increased to $27.1 million from $11.9 million, while adjusted earnings per share more than doubled to $1.18.
Adjusted EBITDA climbed 45% to $74.4 million, with gains of 59% in Surfactants and 22% in Polymers.
The recovery reflects stronger demand and internal execution, but management is also reshaping the cost base through Project Catalyst.
Stepan recorded $5.1 million of restructuring charges in the quarter and expects the initiative to eliminate roughly 100 positions, with total 2026 restructuring charges of $75 million to $80 million.
Quarterly free cash flow was negative $15 million because of higher working-capital needs, although management still expects positive full-year free cash flow, adjusted EBITDA growth, and debt reduction.
Stepan’s quarterly dividend is $0.395, and the company has raised its dividend for 59 consecutive years.
The dividend record spans severe chemical-industry downturns, but cash conversion and restructuring execution remain important to monitor.
Deep Dive: Click here to download (for free) our most recent 3-Page Sure Analysis PDF report on Stepan (SCL).
Top Dividend Champion #6: Stryker Corporation (SYK)
- Expected total return: 20.2%
- Dividend Risk Score: A
Stryker is a leading medical-technology company with products spanning MedSurg, Neurotechnology, and Orthopaedics.
Its installed base of surgical equipment, implants, instruments, and robotic systems creates recurring demand as procedure volumes grow.
Second-quarter 2026 sales increased 9.4% to $6.59 billion, including 9.0% organic growth.
Organic sales rose 9.2% in MedSurg and Neurotechnology and 8.6% in Orthopaedics, showing broad momentum across the portfolio.
Adjusted operating margin expanded 170 basis points to 27.4%, while adjusted earnings per share climbed 17.9% to $3.69.
These results represented a strong recovery from the cyber incident that disrupted the first quarter and temporarily raised expenses.
On August 31, Stryker agreed to acquire ZuriMED, whose FiberLocker technology strengthens its rotator-cuff repair offering, subject to customary closing conditions.
Management narrowed its full-year outlook to organic sales growth of 8.3% to 9.3% and adjusted earnings of $14.95 to $15.10 per share.
Stryker declared an $0.88 quarterly dividend in August, 4.8% above the prior-year payment, and has increased its dividend for 32 consecutive years.
The yield is modest, but the company’s procedure-driven growth, expanding margins, and conservative payout support above-average dividend-growth potential.
Deep Dive: Click here to download (for free) our most recent 3-Page Sure Analysis PDF report on Stryker (SYK).
Top Dividend Champion #5: Brown & Brown, Inc. (BRO)
- Expected total return: 20.9%
- Dividend Risk Score: A
Brown & Brown is a diversified insurance brokerage that earns commissions and fees by helping clients obtain property, casualty, employee-benefit, and specialty coverage.
Its asset-light model, recurring policy renewals, and acquisition program have supported strong long-term earnings growth.
Second-quarter 2026 revenue increased 30.4% to $1.68 billion, primarily reflecting acquisitions, including the large Accession Risk Management transaction.
Net income rose 24.7% to $288 million, adjusted earnings per share increased 3.9% to $1.07, and adjusted EBITDAC grew 27% to $598 million.
Organic revenue declined 0.7%, though it increased 0.7% when contingent commissions were included, making renewed internal growth an important point to monitor.
The ongoing integration of Accession should expand Brown & Brown’s capabilities and scale, but it also adds execution risk and temporarily weighs on comparability.
In July, the company announced an AI-focused transformation with Anthropic, McKinsey, and Accenture to improve workflows and service delivery across the combined organization.
Brown & Brown pays a quarterly dividend of $0.165 and has raised its annual dividend for 32 consecutive years.
The modest payout leaves room for continued increases.
In September, Brown & Brown acquired MacKay Corporate Insurance Brokers, establishing its first retail acquisition in Scotland and extending its European distribution network.
Deep Dive: Click here to download (for free) our most recent 3-Page Sure Analysis PDF report on Brown & Brown (BRO).
Top Dividend Champion #4: Badger Meter, Inc. (BMI)
- Expected total return: 21.5%
- Dividend Risk Score: A
Badger Meter provides smart water meters, flow-measurement equipment, software, and related communication technologies to utilities and industrial customers.
Its expanding installed base and recurring software and service revenue support attractive long-term economics, while municipal water infrastructure provides durable demand.
Second-quarter 2026 sales totaled $222.3 million, up 10% sequentially but down 7% from a particularly strong prior-year quarter.
Utility water revenue declined 8%, while flow-instrumentation revenue increased 6%.
Operating earnings fell 12% to $39.4 million, operating margin was 17.7%, and earnings per share declined to $1.02 from $1.17.
Management expects project deployments to strengthen in the second half and continues to anticipate roughly flat full-year base-business revenue.
Badger Meter acquired UDlive in May, adding remote sewer-network monitoring technology and expanding its addressable market beyond clean-water metering.
On September 28, Badger Meter introduced OneNetwork, a software platform that combines meter, water-quality, and network-monitoring data to help utilities detect problems and coordinate responses.
In August, Badger Meter raised its quarterly dividend 10% to $0.44, marking 34 consecutive years of dividend growth.
The yield remains low, but the debt-free balance sheet, conservative payout, and recurring revenue provide substantial protection for future increases.
Deep Dive: Click here to download (for free) our most recent 3-Page Sure Analysis PDF report on Badger Meter (BMI).
Top Dividend Champion #3: FactSet Research Systems Inc. (FDS)
- Expected total return: 23.1%
- Dividend Risk Score: A
FactSet Research Systems provides financial data, analytics, workflow software, and research tools to investment professionals worldwide.
Its embedded products, high switching costs, and subscription model support recurring revenue and enduring customer relationships.
On September 30, FactSet reported fiscal fourth-quarter 2026 revenue growth of 6.3% to $634.7 million, with organic revenue up 7.1%.
Organic annual subscription value increased 7.0% to $2.57 billion, while annual subscription retention remained above 95%.
Adjusted earnings per share rose 11.6% to $4.52, but GAAP earnings per share fell 15.4% to $3.41 amid higher expenses and a prior-year divestiture gain.
Adjusted operating margin declined to 33.0% from 33.8%, reflecting higher incentive compensation and technology expenses.
For fiscal 2026, revenue reached $2.48 billion and adjusted earnings totaled $18.01 per share.
Full-year free cash flow increased 14.6% to $707.5 million, and FactSet returned $808 million through dividends and repurchases.
Annual subscription value added from AI solutions more than doubled, supporting the company’s investment in data and workflow innovation.
Management’s fiscal 2027 outlook calls for revenue of $2.600 billion to $2.625 billion and adjusted earnings of $19.25 to $19.65 per share.
FactSet pays a quarterly dividend of $1.16 and has raised its dividend for 27 consecutive years.
Top Dividend Champion #2: Albemarle Corporation (ALB)
- Expected total return: 24.1%
- Dividend Risk Score: A
Albemarle is a leading global producer of lithium and specialty chemicals, with operations serving electric vehicles, energy storage, electronics, and industrial customers.
Lithium prices make earnings cyclical, but the company owns low-cost resources and benefits from long-term growth in battery demand.
Second-quarter 2026 net sales increased 31% to $1.74 billion, while adjusted EBITDA rose 155% to $858 million.
Energy Storage sales jumped 78% to $1.28 billion as higher realized prices and 11% volume growth lifted segment adjusted EBITDA to $724 million.
Specialties sales increased 21%, and companywide free cash flow reached $638 million.
Albemarle achieved $100 million of cost and productivity improvements in the first half and reduced its 2026 capital-spending forecast to approximately $500 million.
In September, Albemarle announced that Ragnar Udd will succeed Kent Masters as CEO on February 1, 2027, or an agreed earlier date, with Masters becoming executive chairman.
The balance sheet also strengthened, with $3.2 billion of liquidity and net debt equal to only 0.5 times adjusted EBITDA at quarter-end.
In July, Albemarle raised its quarterly dividend 1.2% to $0.41, extending its dividend-growth streak to 30 years.
The increase was small, reflecting lithium-market volatility, but the stronger cash-flow outlook improves dividend coverage and financial flexibility.
Deep Dive: Click here to download (for free) our most recent 3-Page Sure Analysis PDF report on Albemarle (ALB).
Top Dividend Champion #1: The Andersons, Inc. (ANDE)
- Expected total return: 24.2%
- Dividend Risk Score: B
The Andersons is a diversified agribusiness operating through Agribusiness and Renewables, with activities in grain merchandising, fertilizer, specialty ingredients, ethanol, and renewable feedstocks.
Results can fluctuate with grain basis levels, fertilizer margins, ethanol spreads, and government biofuel policy.
Second-quarter 2026 net income attributable to the company rose to $56.6 million, or $1.65 per share, from $7.9 million, or $0.23 per share.
Adjusted earnings were $2.15 per share, and adjusted EBITDA more than doubled to $140.3 million.
Renewables generated $103 million of adjusted EBITDA, including $24 million of Section 45Z clean-fuel tax credits, while Agribusiness produced $53 million.
Operating cash flow reached $488 million during the first half, allowing leverage to remain below management’s target of 2.5 times EBITDA.
Growth projects include ethanol debottlenecking at Clymers, a Port of Houston soybean-meal export facility expected to begin operating in the fourth quarter, and continued carbon-sequestration permitting.
These investments could improve the earnings mix, though results will remain more cyclical than those of many Dividend Champions.
The Andersons declared a $0.20 quarterly dividend in August and has increased its dividend for 30 consecutive years.
Its 24.2% expected total return is the highest among the qualifying names, but its greater commodity sensitivity contributes to the B Dividend Risk Score.
Deep Dive: Click here to download (for free) our most recent 3-Page Sure Analysis PDF report on The Andersons (ANDE).
Final Thoughts
Dividend Champions have raised their payouts through recessions, inflation, credit disruptions, and major changes in their industries.
That achievement does not make every Champion attractive at every price, but it is a valuable first screen for durable businesses and shareholder-friendly capital allocation.
The ten names above pair those established dividend cultures with the highest expected returns among the qualifying U.S. operating companies in our Sure Analysis Database.
The Andersons offers the largest projected return but also the greatest commodity sensitivity, while Albemarle and Stepan provide additional cyclical recovery exposure.
FactSet, Badger Meter, Stryker, Brown & Brown, and ADP rely more heavily on recurring revenue, installed customer relationships, or long-term secular growth.
PepsiCo adds consumer-staples exposure with 54 consecutive years of dividend growth, while H2O America adds regulated water-utility exposure with a 58-year record.
Expected annual returns range from 17.2% to 24.2%, but the drivers differ across earnings growth, dividends, and potential valuation expansion.
Investors should therefore weigh each company’s valuation, business cyclicality, and execution risks rather than treating the ranking as a substitute for due diligence.
Other Sure Dividend Resources
- Dividend Kings: 50+ years of rising dividends
- Dividend Aristocrats: 25+ years of rising dividends and in the S&P 500
- High Dividend Stocks: 4%+ dividend yields
- Monthly Dividend Stocks: Individual securities that pay out every month
- Royalty Stocks: Detailed royalty stocks list
- MLPs: Detailed MLP list
- REITs: Detailed REIT list
- BDCs: Detailed BDC list