Hello.
Fifty-seven companies have raised their dividend every year for at least half a century. The list is called the Dividend Kings, and it is the most-cited shortlist in income investing.
In 2024, three of them cut their dividends in a single year. And the 30-year Treasury now pays about 5.2%, its highest yield since 2007 and more than double what Coca-Cola pays after 64 straight years of raises.
So today: what a 50-year streak actually tells you, what it doesn't, which Kings score highest on AltIndex right now, and how any of them compete with a 5% government bond.
In today's edition:
👑 What a 50-year streak buys you
⚠️ Three Kings that lost the crown
📊 The Kings AltIndex likes right now
⚖️ Kings vs. the 5% Treasury
Let's take a look.
This is not financial advice. Always do your own research. Past performance doesn’t guarantee future results.
9 stocks tied to AI’s physical backbone
AI does not run on headlines.
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- Which businesses may have stronger competitive moats
- where growth catalysts could come from
- What risks investors should watch before putting capital to work
The important part is this:
AI infrastructure is becoming a real-world buildout.
That means physical assets matter.
Electricity matters.
Cooling matters.
Networking matters.
Manufacturing capacity matters.
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That is the edge this report is designed to give you.
Here is the free copy. (**By clicking this link you agree to receive emails from StockEarnings and our affiliates. You can opt out at any time. Privacy Policy. **)
👑 What a 50-Year Streak Buys You
A Dividend King has increased its dividend for 50 or more consecutive years. There is no index membership requirement and no size minimum. That is the whole test.
What the streak proves: the business paid more every year through six recessions, two oil shocks, the 2008 crisis, and the pandemic. What it does not prove: that the dividend is safe today. Next year's raise depends on this year's cash flow, and a streak can hide a payout ratio that has crept above what the company earns.
The average yield across the 57 Kings is about 2.5%. Most are utilities, consumer staples, and industrials, which are slow growers by design.
⚠️ Three Dividend Kings That Lost the Crown
The 2024 lesson, in order of severity:
Leggett & Platt. 52 straight years of raises, then an 89% cut in April 2024, from $0.46 to $0.05 a quarter. Its payout ratio had passed 128%, and the yield had climbed above 10% as the stock fell. Both were visible for a year before the cut.
3M. A 64-year streak ended after the Solventum spinoff, with the dividend reset lower.
Walgreens. Cut in January 2024 after 47 years, then suspended entirely a year later.
The two signals that preceded every one of these: a payout ratio above 100% of earnings, and a yield far above the company's own history.
📊 The Kings AltIndex Likes Right Now
We pulled the AltIndex score for the large-cap Kings as of August 28. The score blends fundamentals, hiring data, customer signals, and social momentum on a 0 to 100 scale.
Here's how the biggest names rank:
Ticker | Company | Years of raises | AI score | P/E | Yield |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AbbVie | 54 | 76 | ~75x | ~2.6% | |
Cincinnati Financial | 66 | 73 | ~8x | ~2.1% | |
Johnson & Johnson | 64 | 67 | ~32x | ~1.9% | |
Coca-Cola | 64 | 66 | ~27x | ~2.3% | |
Altria | 56 | 65 | ~14x | ~6.2% | |
PepsiCo | 54 | 64 | ~19x | ~4.0% | |
Federal Realty | 59 | 63 | ~24x | ~3.8% |
A few notes on what the table is saying:
AbbVie leads despite a reported P/E near 75, which reflects acquisition accounting charges rather than the underlying business. It counts as a King through its Abbott lineage.
Cincinnati Financial has the longest streak on the table at 8 times earnings.
PepsiCo at 4.0% pays nearly double Coke for a score two points lower.
The names that didn't make the cut: Procter & Gamble scores 45 after 70 years of raises. Kimberly-Clark, yielding 4.6%, scores 53.
⚖️ Kings vs. the 5% Treasury
Coke pays 2.3%. The 30-year Treasury pays 5.2%. Why own the stock?
Because the Treasury coupon is fixed for 30 years and the Coke dividend is not. Coke has raised its payout at roughly 5% a year over the past decade. At that pace, a share bought today at a 2.3% yield pays about 3.7% on the original cost in ten years and about 6% in twenty. The Treasury pays 5.2% in year one and 5.2% in year thirty, with 3.7% inflation working against it the whole time.
Put plainly: for money needed in the next five years, short-term Treasuries win. For money that can sit a decade or more, a King with a growing dividend and a payout ratio under 60% has historically done more.
Bottom Line
A 50-year streak is a screen, but not much use as a safety rating. Check the payout ratio, compare the yield to the company's own history, and use the current AltIndex score to see what the data says today. From this screen, Cincinnati Financial and PepsiCo look like the best combination of streak, valuation, and current signal.
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Until next time,
Brandon & Blake of Invested Inc
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