Dividend Growth Is Heating Up: 3 Stocks With Steady Payout Gains

Growing dividends on a regular basis can be a strong sign of a company's fundamental health. In addition to winning a progressively larger passive income payment the longer that they hold shares of a dividend growth stock, investors can be reassured that they're exposed to a firm that is managing its cash soundly. Add to that a bonus like improving earnings performance or even share price appreciation, and you have a prime choice for a buy-and-hold company for many retail investors.

Dividend stocks exist across many sectors and industries, but long-term growth names in the space can often be found in corners of the market with strong stability in a variety of conditions. The three companies below represent multiple sectors, but each combines impressive dividend growth history with the potential for improvement in other areas.

A $2 Trillion Semiconductor Firm With a History of Big Dividend Boosts

As one of just a handful of companies to surpass the market value threshold of $1 trillion, Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ: AVGO) is one of the most recognizable names in semiconductors and infrastructure software globally. The price of AVGO stock has rallied tremendously alongside the surge in interest in AI, thanks to its dominant position in GPU technologies. This makes Broadcom one of the main semiconductor stocks to watch heading into 2026.

Broadcom's dividend has remained at 59 cents for each of the last four quarters, but it has a long history of dividend increases. Its annualized five-year dividend growth rate is a solid 14.76%, and the company now pays a yield of 0.59% on a healthy payout ratio just above 60%. Given that free cash flow has been climbing to record levels, investors might look to Broadcom boosting its dividend again soon.

With revenue surging in recent periods and across multiple segments of the business, Broadcom appears poised for a predicted 19% in earnings growth in the coming year, according to analysts. Despite gaining about 73% in share value year-to-date (YTD), the company is still rated a Buy according to all but one of 35 analysts examining AVGO.

Market-Leading Dividend Yield and Enviable Stability

One of the leading telecom companies in the United States, Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) is about as stable a stock as investors could ask for. With more than 146 million wireless retail connections and 4G service covering 99% of the U.S. population, Verizon likely doesn't have much room to expand its reach nationwide. Still, its massive cash flow—$7 billion in the third quarter of this year—has made it a passive income superstar.

Verizon's appeal as a dividend stock lies in its astronomical dividend yield of 6.69%, one of the highest across the S&P 500. The company has been able to keep up this impressive distribution over a 20-year history of payment increases and with a sub-60% dividend payout ratio thanks to its income streams. Customers tend to remain steady Verizon subscribers for years at a time, making regular payments for the duration.

Of course, the company does have significant expenses that eat up its cash, as the cost of maintaining its network infrastructure is considerable. Dividend growth has not been as sizable as investors might like to see, particularly given increased inflation in recent quarters, but there is no doubt that Verizon is a dividend stock to watch.

A Sustainable Energy REIT Making Outsized Distributions

HA Sustainable Infrastructure Capital, Inc. (NYSE: HASI), known as HASI, is a real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on sustainable infrastructure and energy efficiency projects. The smallest and likely least familiar name on this list, the company's complicated investment structure has nonetheless yielded noteworthy results. In the latest quarter, for instance, HASI reported record quarterly adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of 80 cents, reaffirming compound annual EPS growth through 2027 in the 8-10% range.

HASI's dividend yield is high at over 5%, and its annualized five-year dividend growth rate is around 4.4%. Despite a modest half-cent increase to dividend payouts early in 2025, investors may have reason to believe that the company will widen its increase the next time it ups payments.

The company retains a diversified pipeline, strong liquidity to remain flexible, and an impressive portfolio of sustainable energy investments. Analysts like what they see, with eight out of 10 affirming HASI shares as a Buy and predicting 18% in upside potential despite already rising by more than 22% YTD. All of these signs could also point to energized dividend growth as well.

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The article "Dividend Growth Is Heating Up: 3 Stocks With Steady Payout Gains" first appeared on MarketBeat.