Here Are All 33 Dividend Kings (Including the Newest Member)

There are dividend growers, and then there are dividend growers.

Dividend Kings are very much the latter.

Companies that are able to increase the size of the regular cash distributions they dole out to their investors are to be celebrated, and they often are. In fact, if you do it for long enough—25 years without interruption—we pat you on the back and call you an “Aristocrat.” (Which, there’s some irony to that as “aristocrat” is usually a pejorative nowadays, but I digress.)

But there’s a more revered, albeit less well known, group of dividend growers called Dividend Kings. They’re a smaller subset of Dividend Aristocrats that have paid a bigger dividend check, each and every year, for the past half-century. That means these companies have been exhibiting generosity since at least before the Helsinki Accords … or if you’re not a history buff, before the start of Wheel of Fortune.

Kingship is a vanity title, but it also reflects a long history of paying their shareholders increasing sums, and that’s something stock investors can get behind.

Today, I’ll introduce you to the 30-plus Dividend Kings from the S&P 500—in other words, the bluest-chip dividend growers on the planet. I’ll also introduce you to the Kings’ newest member.

Editor’s Note: Tabular data appearing in this article is up-to-date as of April 22, 2026.

Disclaimer: This article does not constitute individualized investment advice. Individual securities, funds, and/or other investments appear for your consideration and not as personalized investment recommendations. Act at your own discretion.

Why Dividend Growth Matters

Dividend stocks are companies that pay cash distributions (called “dividends”) to their shareholders. They usually do so on a regular basis—quarterly is the norm here in the U.S., but it can be as infrequent as annually and as frequent as monthly.

That gives you two sources of potential return: capital appreciation (stock go up), and dividend income.

If you’ve heard the business-world phrase “if you’re not growing, you’re dying,” it’s not a concrete truth as it pertains to dividend stocks, but it’s useful general guidance. Said differently: If you’re going to invest in a dividend stock, one of the top qualities to look for is whether that stock routinely increases that dividend, for two reasons:

Reason 1: Dividend Growth Can Be a Sign of Quality

When a company starts paying a regular dividend, they’re making a statement. Put bluntly, they’re saying, “We have the profits to do this, and we expect to continue having the profits to do this.” 

That’s a signal of a business’s operational quality. And a company sends a similar signal when it increases its dividend. It means they’re increasingly optimistic that their baseline of profits will continue growing. 

And if you’re saying to yourself, “Well, sometimes companies cut or suspend their dividends,” you’re right. Investing is an imperfect science. But for what it’s worth, those are extremely infrequent actions compared to how often companies keep their payouts level or raise them.

Reason 2: Dividend Growth Improves Your ‘Yield on Cost’

Go to your favorite investment-data website or stock-research app and look up a dividend stock like, say, Exxon Mobil (XOM). The dividend yield—the percentage of a stock’s price you can expect to receive in dividends in a given year—reflects the yield on today’s prices. 

But if you buy a stock at a 1% yield today, and it raises its dividend over time, your “yield on cost” (the yield you’re receiving on the price you paid when you bought the stock) will eventually climb to 2%, 3% … you get the picture. 

That’s not just nice because more money = more money. It’s actually really vital, especially when you’re in retirement and living on a fixed income, that the dividend income you depend on is at least growing at the rate of inflation. If your dividend stock keeps its payout level year in and year out, that dividend is actually losing spending power.

Dividend growth that lasts for even a few years is an encouraging feat, but the longer that streak goes, the more impressive it becomes. That’s because dividend hikes don’t happen in a bubble—over a long enough time, they’re happening during wars, pandemics, recessions, depressions, you name it. That not only is a signal that a business’s profits are downright durable—it’s also evidence that the company is committed to enhancing shareholder value.

And that brings us to Dividend Kings.

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Well, OK: First, the Dividend Aristocrats

I lied. That doesn’t bring us to Dividend Kings. Not directly, anyways.

That actually brings us to Dividend Aristocrats—stocks that have raised their payouts on an annual basis, without interruption, for at least 25 years. It’s a fairly exclusive club of about 70 stocks, most of which (but not all) are well-known blue chips that you could easily pick out of a lineup.

Of course, it’s one thing to get into La Porte d’Argent. It’s another to have a gold membership.

The Dividend Kings are a very exclusive subset of the fairly exclusive Dividend Aristocrats. To pop a crown on its head, a company must deliver at least a half-century’s worth of raises without blinking. For context: Every Dividend King started paying dividends before Steve Wozniak churned out the first Apple computer!

If that made any of you feel old, I’m sorry.

Anyhoo, if 25 years of dividend growth is impressive, then 50 years is doubly so. That means these dividends didn’t just survive, but continued to thrive, during a host of calamities, including at least six recessions, the dot-com bust, the Great Financial Crisis, COVID, and New Coke.

Related: How to Get Free Stocks for Signing Up: 9 Apps w/Free Shares

Now, Here Are the Dividend Kings

So, what are these fabled corporations? Here are the 32 Dividend Kings from within the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats, which is largely populated with large- and bigger mid-cap stocks, including their current yield and annual dividend-growth streak.

Stocks are listed by sector. Yields are as of this writing.

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A Closer Look at a Few Dividend Kings

Let’s examine a few Dividend Kings, including the newest addition to the group, so you can really get a feel for what it takes as a business to make it on this list:

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Pentair (New Dividend King)

• Sector: Industrials
• Dividend yield: 1.2%
• Dividend-growth streak: 50 years

Pentair (PNR) is one of the world’s largest providers of water solutions, operating in five continents. Its products include fluid treatment and pump products and systems, commercial and residential water treatment products and systems, and residential and commercial pool equipment and accessories. And it does so across a wide variety of names, including Aurora, Haffmans, Hydromatic, Everpure, Pentek, Kreepy Krauly, Sta-Rite, and many more, plus a few brands that utilize the Pentair name (Pentair Pool, Pentair Flow).

Like with many industrials, Pentair is a cyclical business whose top and bottom lines ebb and flow with the economy. That’s not a traditional recipe for even dividend stability, let alone unflinching growth, but Pentair has managed to do so with a tight grip on the wheel.

Pentair joins the Dividend Kings by virtue of its 50th consecutive dividend increase, which came in December 2025. PNR raised its payout by 8%, to 27¢ per share. That comes out to only 20% of the company’s expected earnings for 2026, which is an extremely conservative payout ratio that could survive a massive fluctuation in business conditions.

Also worth mentioning is that alongside the upgraded dividend, Pentair also announced a new $1 billion share-repurchase program that’s expected to run through the end of 2028.

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Hormel Foods

• Sector: Consumer staples
• Dividend yield: 5.5%
• Dividend-growth streak: 60 years

The mere mention of “Spam” might get you a side eye in hifalutin circles, but even those well-versed in haute cuisine can appreciate the income potential of Hormel Foods (HRL). Hormel, one of the most recognizable consumer companies on this list, is responsible for a host of brands, including Spam, Skippy peanut butter, Jennie-O turkey, Dinty Moore stews, its namesake bacon and chili, and dozens more.

Founded in 1891 and headquartered in Austin, Minnesota, Hormel has grown into a global brand—yes, it’s not just a U.S. consumer staples giant, but a mainstay in grocery stores in roughly 80 countries worldwide.

Product diversification has been crucial in Hormel’s ability to maintain steady demand and navigate the dynamic food market, which is known for rapidly changing consumer tastes and preferences. That has translated into shareholder value, with the company paying and increasing its dividend for 60 consecutive years.

I mentioned throughout 2025 that Hormel maintained a roughly 80% payout ratio on 2026’s earnings estimates, which is manageable but only leaves room for modest dividend growth going forward. Well, its most recent increase, which was announced in December, was indeed modest, at just 1% to 29.25¢ per share. Regardless, that was good enough to extend Hormel’s streak to a full six decades’ worth of uninterrupted dividend growth.

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Genuine Parts

• Sector: Consumer discretionary
• Dividend yield: 3.7%
• Dividend-growth streak: 70 years

Genuine Parts (GPC) might be considered a consumer discretionary stock, but given that it deals in automotive and industrial parts, much of what it sells is downright essential—and its dividend track record reflects that.

Established in 1928 and headquartered in Atlanta, GPC has carved a niche for itself as a premier distributor of automotive replacement parts, industrial parts, and business products. Its automotive segment (roughly two-thirds of revenues) predominantly come from large auto-care chains and local repair shops, though a little less than a quarter come from individual consumers. And its industrial segment (roughly one-third of revenues) sells directly to companies with large fleets.

Key to the company’s enduring success has been its extensive network of distribution centers and stores, including the well-known NAPA Auto Parts brand. This long reach has ensured a steady demand for its products, which is helpful in the often cyclical automotive and industrial sectors.

Genuine Parts Company’s investor appeal is significantly bolstered by its impressive record of dividend payments. The company has paid out dividends without interruption for 76 years, and it has increased those distributions annually for 70 consecutive years to earn its Dividend King membership card. It reached a full seven decades in February 2026, when GPC upped its dividend by 3% to $1.0625 per share quarterly—about half the profits it’s expected to bring in during 2026.

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