What are dividend growth stocks?

Dividend growth stocks are companies that raise their dividend consistently and quickly, usually from a low starting yield. The appeal isn't the income today (often under 2%) but the compounding: a payout growing 15-20% a year roughly doubles every four to five years, so your yield on cost climbs over time while the business, and usually the share price, grows with it.

Are low-yield dividend stocks worth buying?

For long-term investors, often yes. A 0.8% yield that grows in the mid-teens each year (like Visa) becomes a much larger yield on your original cost within a decade, and these companies tend to compound the share price too. The trade-off is little income up front, so low-yield growers suit accumulation, while safe high-yielders suit investors who need cash flow now.

What is yield on cost?

Yield on cost is the current annual dividend divided by the price you originally paid, not today's price. It's the right way to judge a dividend grower: a stock bought at a 1% yield that raises its dividend for years can pay 5% or more on your original cost, even though new buyers still see a 1% yield. It's why dividend growth compounds.

Dividend growth or high yield, which is better?

It depends on your timeframe. If you need income now, a safe high yield is better. If you're investing for a decade or more, dividend growth usually wins because the rising payout (and the growing business behind it) compounds. Many investors hold a mix: high-yielders for current income, growers for future income.

Are Visa and Mastercard good dividend stocks?

They yield under 1%, so they're poor choices for current income, but they're among the best dividend growth stocks: both have raised their dividend for 15+ years at double-digit annual rates on a low payout ratio, with very high safety scores. For a long-term holder, that combination of fast, safe growth turns a small starting yield into a large yield on cost. This is analysis, not investment advice.

Best Dividend Growth Stocks for 2026, Ranked by Safety

A 0.6% dividend can beat a 6% one. If a company raises its payout ~20% a year, the income you collect on your original cost doubles roughly every four years, so a tiny starting yield compounds into a large one, while a frozen high yield stays put. These are dividend growth stocks: lower yields today, but fast, safe, durable increases. We ranked the best by our dividend safety score, computed from SEC EDGAR filings.

Why dividend growth beats a big starting yield

The metric that matters for a long-term holder is yield on cost, the dividend relative to what you paid, not today's price. Buy a stock yielding 0.8% that grows its dividend 16% a year, and in a decade your yield on cost is roughly 3.5%; in 15 years, ~7%, all while the share price typically compounds too. A 6% yield that never grows is still 6% in fifteen years, and inflation has eaten into it. Growth plus a low payout ratio also means the dividend is rarely at risk: the company is paying out a small slice of a rising stream.

How we ranked them

Every company below combines three things, all from its filings:

A long growth streak, many years of raising the dividend, so the growth is a policy, not a one-off.
Real earnings growth behind it, the fuel that lets the dividend keep rising.
A high dividend safety score, our 0-100 score (payout coverage, free-cash-flow cover, balance sheet, history), so the growing dividend is also a secure one.

Highest safety score first. The yields look small on purpose: what matters is the growth rate and the decades-long streak behind each one. Here is the case for each.

10 best dividend growth stocks, ranked by safety

1. Accenture (ACN), 3.6% yield, safety 91

The highest safety score on either list, and the rare grower that also pays you well today. Accenture's global consulting and IT-services business is asset-light, meaning it converts a huge share of profit into free cash flow, which funds both a near-4% yield and 20 straight years of dividend increases. Earnings have compounded at high-single to low-double digits, the payout ratio sits around half of profits, and recent raises have run near 10%, so there is ample room to keep going. It's the unusual case where you don't have to choose between income now and growth later. A core dividend-growth holding.

See Accenture's full dividend breakdown

2. Sherwin-Williams (SHW), 1.0% yield, safety 86

A Dividend Aristocrat closing in on King status, with 47 consecutive years of increases behind one of the quietly dominant franchises in the market: paint and coatings. The starting yield is tiny at 1%, but that is by design, the company has raised the dividend at a mid-teens annual rate for years while reinvesting the rest into a business with real pricing power and a wide moat. Strong, consistent earnings growth is what funds those raises. This is the textbook compounder: you buy it for the trajectory, not the current yield.

See Sherwin-Williams' dividend breakdown

3. Lowe's (LOW), 2.2% yield, safety 86

A bona fide Dividend King with more than 60 consecutive years of increases, paid every quarter since the company went public in 1961. That puts Lowe's in extremely rare company, and it has kept the raises substantial rather than token while buying back enormous amounts of stock. The home-improvement market is cyclical, but Lowe's low payout ratio (around a third of earnings) gives it room to keep raising even through a housing slowdown. A recognizable, defensive grower that still hands you a real 2%+ yield while it compounds.

See Lowe's full dividend breakdown

4. Intuit (INTU), 1.8% yield, safety 85

TurboTax and QuickBooks give Intuit one of the stickiest software franchises anywhere, and one of the highest quality scores we compute. It has raised the dividend for 14 years, and crucially the raises have been large (recent increases in the mid-teens percent) because the underlying business throws off fast-growing, high-margin, recurring revenue. The yield is under 2%, but the combination of a low payout ratio and rapid earnings growth is exactly the engine that turns a small dividend into a big one over time. A high-quality grower hiding behind a modest yield.

See Intuit's full dividend breakdown

5. ADP (ADP), 2.9% yield, safety 83

A Dividend King with 51 consecutive years of increases, and the highest starting yield among the pure growers here. Payroll and HR services make ADP remarkably recession-resistant: companies keep running payroll in any economy, and ADP even earns interest on the funds it holds in transit. That stability has funded five decades of steady, often double-digit raises on a comfortable payout ratio. If you want dividend growth without giving up much current income, ADP is the sweet spot on this list.

See ADP's full dividend breakdown

6. Mastercard (MA), 0.6% yield, safety 81

The archetype dividend grower. The yield is under 1%, but Mastercard has raised the dividend for 15 straight years and grown it enormously over that span (the payout is many multiples of what it was a decade ago), all while paying out only a small slice of profits. The business is a toll booth on the global shift from cash to digital payments, with fat margins and little capital needed to grow. Hold it long enough and the yield on your original cost becomes large, with very little risk to the payout along the way. The definition of buy-and-hold dividend growth.

See Mastercard's full dividend breakdown

7. Visa (V), 0.8% yield, safety 81

Mastercard's twin, and just as much a compounding machine. Visa has raised its dividend for 17 consecutive years since its 2008 IPO, growing the payout at a mid-teens annual rate on a low payout ratio. Like Mastercard, it runs one of the most durable business models in existence: it takes a small cut of an ever-rising tide of global card spending, without the credit risk that banks carry. A tiny yield today in exchange for serious, low-risk compounding over a long holding period.

See Visa's full dividend breakdown

8. Eli Lilly (LLY), 0.6% yield, safety 77

The fastest-growing big pharma, powered by its blockbuster obesity and diabetes franchise. Lilly has raised its dividend for about 11 years (it paused increases from 2010 to 2014 before resuming), and the recent raises have been large, in the mid-teens percent, as earnings surge. The sub-1% yield reflects a share price that has run up enormously, not a weak payout: the dividend itself has grown rapidly and the payout ratio remains modest. This is really a growth stock that also happens to pay a fast-rising dividend.

See Eli Lilly's full dividend breakdown

9. Microsoft (MSFT), 0.9% yield, safety 76

The mega-cap grower. Microsoft has raised its dividend for 21 consecutive years, backed by cloud, software and now AI, a fortress balance sheet, and around $80 billion a year in free cash flow. The payout ratio is below 35%, so the roughly 10%-a-year raises have enormous room to continue. The sub-1% yield looks unexciting, but for anyone who bought years ago and held, it has compounded into a far larger yield on cost, and the business behind it keeps getting stronger. A cornerstone dividend-growth holding.

See Microsoft's full dividend breakdown

10. McDonald's (MCD), 2.6% yield, safety 70

A Dividend Aristocrat that has just reached Dividend King territory, with nearly 50 consecutive years of increases since its first dividend in 1976. The franchise-and-real-estate model is the secret: McDonald's collects rent and royalties from thousands of franchisees, which throws off remarkably reliable cash through any economy. That has funded decades of steady, often double-digit raises. Of the growers here, it offers the best blend of a recognizable brand, a decent starting yield, and a long, unbroken growth record.

See McDonald's full dividend breakdown

Look at Mastercard and Visa: yields under 1% today, but dividends they have raised every year for 15-plus years, at double-digit rates, on a tiny payout ratio. That combination, fast growth with lots of headroom, is exactly what turns a small yield into a large one over a holding period, with almost no risk to the payout along the way.

Growth vs. yield: which should you pick?

It depends on your timeframe. If you need income now(you're retired, or living off the portfolio), a safe high yield wins, see our companion list of the safest high-yield dividend stocks. If you're building for a decade or more, dividend growth usually wins: the compounding of a rising payout, plus the share-price appreciation that typically comes with a growing business, beats a static high yield. Many investors hold some of each.

How to vet a dividend grower yourself

Payout ratio, a low ratio (often under 40% for growers) is what leaves room for years of double-digit raises.
Growth streak, a long, unbroken record shows the increases are a commitment, not a fluke. Several here (Lowe's, ADP) are 50-plus-year Dividend Kings.
Earnings growth, the dividend can only outrun earnings for so long; durable raises need a growing business behind them.

Intrinsiqq computes the payout, coverage, streak and safety score for every US stock from SEC filings, so you can check any potential grower in seconds.

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Payout ratio, free-cash-flow coverage, growth streak, and a 0-100 safety score, straight from SEC filings, no account needed.

See a dividend safety score

Sources

Intrinsiqq is a research tool, not investment advice. Figures are computed from public SEC EDGAR filings; stock prices are delayed. Always do your own research before making any investment decision. Product names and logos are trademarks of their respective owners; Intrinsiqq is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by them.

The Best Dividend Growth Stocks for 2026