2 Dividend Stocks I'm Very Thankful I Owned This Year

We narrowly escaped a sustained stock meltdown this year. In April, the S&P 500 briefly sank into bear-market territory due to investors' fears about the impact of President Donald Trump's tariffs on corporate profits and the broader economy. Thankfully, the market has since bounced back.

My own portfolio followed a similar trajectory. Among the many stocks I own, several performed particularly well through much of the year and have delivered superior returns year to date. Two of those are Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ). Here's why I'm thankful I owned these two dividend payers this year.

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1. Meta Platforms

Few investors add Meta Platforms to their portfolios for its dividend program, but it sure doesn't hurt to add a bit of consistent income on top of what have generally been excellent returns. So far in 2025, Meta has beaten the market as it continued making progress on its artificial intelligence (AI) ambitions. Sales and earnings have increased at a good clip. In the second quarter, revenue came in at $47.5 billion, 22% higher than the year-ago period, while net income jumped 36% to $18.3 billion.

The tech giant has deepened user engagement with its websites and apps thanks to AI-powered algorithms that keep people glued to their screens longer. Meta has also improved ad conversion by using AI. With a more engaged ecosystem and better returns on investment for the businesses advertising on its platforms, everyone wins.

Meta Platforms is investing significant amounts to enhance its AI business, which should further improve its operations. Unlike some of its competitors, it does not charge fees for the use of its large language models (LLMs). Management hopes that this open-source approach will attract talented developers who will improve its LLMs, making those models market leaders and boosting AI initiatives across its business. Meta's AI assistant and its AI-based tools are powered by its LLMs, so as the LLM improves, they should improve as well.

And as we've already seen, that type of improvement can have a meaningful impact on Meta's business and advertising revenue. That's one of many reasons why its prospects look attractive beyond this year.

It isn't the most generous dividend stock on the market: It initiated payouts just last year and offers a meager forward yield of 0.3%, much lower than the S&P 500's current average yield of 1.2%. Even so, Meta's strong outlook should allow it to reward investors over the long run with more than just payout increases.

2. Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson continues to deal with some notable headwinds. It still has to address the tens of thousands of remaining lawsuits it faces regarding its talc-based products. Regulatory changes in the U.S. that will allow the government to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies on the prices that Medicare and Medicaid will pay for some drugs could lead to lower revenues and earnings for some of its products. Like most corporations, it faces potential impacts from Trump's tariffs. And in 2025, the deals it made a few years ago to keep biosimilars for Stelara off the market in the U.S. ended, and competition arrived for the immunology drug, which has lately been one of the company's main growth drivers.

Yet Johnson & Johnson has crushed the market so far this year. There are likely several reasons for that.

First, the company is a healthcare leader and markets products with noncyclical demand. Its medicines aren't the sort of thing that people who need them will choose to forego.

Second, Johnson & Johnson has a strong balance sheet. The company's credit rating, which is higher than that of the U.S. government, proves its financial strength.

These factors mean that, even amid a volatile market and its own struggles, Johnson & Johnson stock might be a relatively safe haven if more macro troubles lie ahead. That's partly why the pharmaceutical giant has performed well this year, and why it's an excellent stock to hold onto for a while. The company's capacity for innovation and the diversity of its portfolio across multiple therapeutic areas in pharmaceuticals and medical devices add to the investment thesis.

Then there's the company's exceptional dividend track record. It's a Dividend King, meaning it has hiked its payout every year for more than 50 consecutive years; its streak is now 62 years long.

Johnson & Johnson could still deliver strong returns for your portfolio over the long run, especially if you opt to reinvest the dividends.

Prosper Junior Bakiny has positions in Johnson & Johnson and Meta Platforms. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Meta Platforms. The Motley Fool recommends Johnson & Johnson. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.