Updated on March 18th, 2025 by Bob Ciura
Income investors are always on the hunt for high-quality dividend stocks. There are many ways to measure high-quality stocks. One way for investors to find great dividend stocks is to focus on those with the longest histories of raising dividends.
With this in mind, we created a downloadable list of over 130 Dividend Champions.
You can download your free copy of the Dividend Champions list, along with relevant financial metrics like price-to-earnings ratios, dividend yields, and payout ratios, by clicking on the link below:
Investors are likely familiar with the Dividend Aristocrats, a group of 69 stocks in the S&P 500 Index with 25+ consecutive years of dividend increases.
Meanwhile, investors should also familiarize themselves with the Dividend Champions, which have also raised their dividends for at least 25 years in a row.
While their length of dividend increases is the same, leading to some overlap, there are also some important differences between the Dividend Aristocrats and Dividend Champions.
As a result, the Dividend Champions list is much more expansive. There are many high-quality Dividend Champions that are not included on the Dividend Aristocrats list.
This article will discuss the Dividend Champions, and an analysis of our top 7 Dividend Champions now, ranked according to expected total returns in the Sure Analysis Research Database.
Table of Contents
You can instantly jump to any specific section of the article by clicking on the links below:
- Overview of Dividend Champions
- Top Dividend Champion #7: PepsiCo Inc. (PEP)
- Top Dividend Champion #6: Andersons Inc. (ANDE)
- Top Dividend Champion #5: Gorman-Rupp Co. (GRC)
- Top Dividend Champion #4: Sonoco Products (SON)
- Top Dividend Champion #3: SJW Group (SJW)
- Top Dividend Champion #2: Eversource Energy (ES)
- Top Dividend Champion #1: Stepan Co. (SCL)
Overview of Dividend Champions
The requirement to become a Dividend Champion is simple: 25+ years of consecutive annual dividend increases. The Dividend Aristocrats have the same requirement when it comes to number of years, but with a few additional requirements.
To be a Dividend Aristocrat, a company must also be included in the S&P 500 Index, must have a float-adjusted market cap of at least $3 billion, and must have an average daily value traded of at least $5 million.
These added requirements preclude many companies that possess a sufficient track record of annual dividend increases, but do not qualify based on market cap or liquidity reasons.
As a result, while there is some overlap between the Dividend Aristocrats and the Dividend Champions, there are also many Dividend Champions that are not Dividend Aristocrats.
Income investors might want to consider these stocks due to their impressive histories of annual dividend increases, so we have compiled them in the downloadable spreadsheet above.
In addition, we have ranked the top 7 Dividend Champions according to total expected annual returns over the next five years. Our top 7 Dividend Champions right now are ranked below.
The Top 7 Dividend Champions To Buy Right Now
The following 7 stocks represent Dividend Champions with at least 25 consecutive years of dividend increases, but they also have durable competitive advantages, long-term growth potential, and high expected total returns.
Stocks have been ranked by expected total annual return over the next five years, from lowest to highest.
Top Dividend Champion #7: PepsiCo Inc. (PEP)
- 5-year expected returns: 15.4%
PepsiCo is a global food and beverage company that generates $89 billion in annual sales. The company’s products include Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Frito-Lay chips, Gatorade, Tropicana orange juice and Quaker foods.
Its business is split roughly 60-40 in terms of food and beverage revenue. It is also balanced geographically between the U.S. and the rest of the world.
Source: Investor Presentation
On February 4th, 2025, PepsiCo announced that it would increase its annualized dividend by 5.0% to $5.69 starting with the payment that was made in June 2025, extending the company’s dividend growth streak to 53 consecutive years.
That same day, PepsiCo announced fourth quarter and full year results for the period ending December 31st, 2025. For the quarter, revenue decreased 0.3% to $27.8 billion, which was $110 million below estimates.
Adjusted earnings-per-share of $1.96 compared favorably to $1.78 the prior year and was $0.02 better than excepted.
For the year, revenue grew 0.4% to $91.9 billion while adjusted earnings-per-share of $8.16 compared to $7.62 in 2023. Currency exchange reduced revenue by 2% and earnings-per-share by 4%.
Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on PEP (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):
Top Dividend Champion #6: Andersons Inc. (ANDE)
- 5-year expected returns: 15.5%
The Andersons, Inc. (ANDE) is an agriculture company that conducts business in North America. It operates through the following segments: Trade, Renewables, and Nutrient & Industrial (formerly Plant Nutrient).
The Trade segment includes commodity merchandising and the operation of terminal grain elevator facilities. The Trade segment contributed over 68% of the company’s revenue in 2024.
The Renewables segment produces, purchases, and sells ethanol and co-products.
The Nutrient & Industrial segment manufactures, and distributes agricultural inputs, primary nutrients, and specialty fertilizers, to dealers and farmers, along with turf care and corncob-based products.
On February 18th, 2025, The Andersons released its fourth quarter and full year results for the period ending December 31st, 2024. For the quarter, the company reported revenue of $3.12 billion, a decrease from the $3.21 billion reported in the same quarter of the previous year.
The revenue decline continued to reflect weaker commodity prices and overall market sluggishness, which impacted the company’s trading and merchandising activities. Net income for the quarter was $45 million, or $1.31 per diluted share, down from $51 million, or $1.49 per diluted share, in the previous year’s fourth quarter.
Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on ANDE (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):
Top Dividend Champion #5: Gorman-Rupp Co. (GRC)
- 5-year expected returns: 16.8%
Gorman-Rupp began manufacturing pumps and pumping systems back in 1933. Since that time, it has grown into an industry leader with annual sales of nearly $700 million and a market capitalization of $1 billion.
Today, Gorman-Rupp is a focused, niche manufacturer of critical systems that many industrial clients rely upon for their own success.
Gorman Rupp generates about one-third of its total revenue from outside of the U.S.
Source: Investor Presentation
Gorman-Rupp posted fourth quarter and full-year earnings on February 7th, 2025, and results were weaker than expected. Adjusted earnings-per-share came to 42 cents, which was three cents light of estimates.
Revenue was up 1.3% year-over-year to $162.7 million, which matched expectations. The increase in sales was primarily attributed to the impact of pricing increases taken in the year-ago period.
Gross profit was $49.2 million for the quarter, or 30.2% of revenue. These were down from $50.9 million and 31.7%, respectively, in the same period of 2023.
The decline in gross margins of 150 basis points included 220 basis points of increased labor and overhead costs, which were driven by healthcare expenses.
That was partially offset by a 70-basis point improvement in cost of materials, which itself was driven by a 140-basis point improvement in selling prices offset by a 70-basis point decline from inventory costing.
Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on GRC (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):
Top Dividend Champion #4: Sonoco Products (SON)
- 5-year expected returns: 17.4%
Sonoco Products provides packaging, industrial products and supply chain services to its customers. The markets that use the company’s products include those in the appliances, electronics, beverage, construction and food industries.
The company generates over $5 billion in annual sales. Sonoco Products is now composed of 2 major segments, Consumer Packaging, and Industrial Packaging, with all other businesses listed as “All Other”.
Source: Investor Presentation
On February 18th, 2025, Sonoco Products announced fourth quarter results for the period ending December 31st, 2024.
For the quarter, revenue grew 1.5% to $1.36 billion, which was $310 million less than expected. Excluding the impact of acquisitions, adjusted earnings-per-share of $1.17 compared to $1.02 in the prior year, but was $0.03 less than expected.
For the year, revenue declined 3% to $5.3 billion while adjusted earnings-per-share of $4.89 compared to $5.26 in 2023.
Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on Sonoco (SON) (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):
Top Dividend Champion #3: SJW Group (SJW)
- 5-year expected returns: 18.0%
SJW Group is a water utility company that produces, purchases, stores, purifies and distributes water to consumers and businesses in the Silicon Valley area of California, the area north of San Antonio, Texas, Connecticut, and Maine.
SJW Group has a small real estate division that owns and develops properties for residential and warehouse customers in California and Tennessee. The company generates about $670 million in annual revenues.
On February 27th, 2025, SJW Group announced fourth quarter and full year results for the period ending December 31st, 2024. For the quarter, revenue improved 15.5% to $197.8 million, which topped expectations by $10.3 million.
Earnings-per-share of $0.74 compared favorably to earnings-per-share of $0.59 in the prior year and was $0.19 ahead of estimates. For the year, revenue grew 12% to $748.4 million while earnings-per-share of $2.87 compared to $2.68 in
2023.
For the quarter, higher water rates overall added $22.8 million to results and higher customer usage added $9.9 million while regulatory mechanisms lowered revenue totals by $7.1 million. Operating production expenses totaled $154.2 million, which was a 14% increase from the prior year.
Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on SJW (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):
Top Dividend Champion #2: Eversource Energy (ES)
- 5-year expected returns: 18.7%
Eversource Energy is a diversified holding company with subsidiaries that provide regulated electric, gas, and water distribution service in the Northeast U.S.
FactSet, Erie Indemnity, and Eversource Energy are the three new Dividend Aristocrats for 2025.
The company’s utilities serve more than 4 million customers after acquiring NStar’s Massachusetts utilities in 2012, Aquarion in 2017, and Columbia Gas in 2020.
Eversource has delivered steady growth to shareholders for many years.
Source: Investor Presentation
On February 11th, 2025, Eversource Energy released its fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 results. For the quarter, the company reported net earnings of $72.5 million, a significant improvement from a net loss of $(1,288.5) million in the same quarter of last year, which reflected the impact of the company’s exit from offshore wind investments.
The company reported earnings per share of $0.20, compared with a loss per share of $(3.68) in the prior year. For the full year 2024, Eversource reported GAAP earnings of $811.7 million, or $2.27 per share, compared with a full-year 2023 loss of $(442.2) million, or $(1.26) per share.
On a non-GAAP recurring basis, the company earned $1,634.0 million, or $4.57 per share, representing a 5.3% increase from 2023.
Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on ES (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):
Top Dividend Champion #1: Stepan Co. (SCL)
- 5-year expected returns: 19.9%
Stepan manufactures basic and intermediate chemicals, including surfactants, specialty products, germicidal and fabric softening quaternaries, phthalic anhydride, polyurethane polyols and special ingredients for the food, supplement, and pharmaceutical markets.
It is organized into three distinct business lines: surfactants, polymers, and specialty products. These businesses serve a wide variety of end markets, meaning that Stepan is not beholden to just a handful of industries.
Source: Investor presentation
The surfactants business is Stepan’s largest by revenue, accounting for ~68% of total sales in the most recent quarter. A surfactant is an organic compound that contains both water-soluble and water-insoluble components.
Stepan posted fourth quarter and full-year earnings on February 19th, 2025, and results were mixed once again. Revenue was down 1.2% year-on-year to $526 million, but did beat estimates by almost $5 million. Adjusted earnings-per-share came to 12 cents, which missed estimates by 21 cents.
Global sales volume was off 1% year-over-year as double-digit growth in surfactants was offset and then some by demand weakness in polymers. Surfactants were up 3% year-over-year in Q4 to $379 million. Polymer net sales fell 12% to $130 million.
The company managed to generate about $13 million in pre-tax cost savings during the quarter, and about $48 million for the full year.
Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on SCL (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):
Final Thoughts
The various lists of stocks by length of dividend history are a good resource for investors who focus on high-quality dividend stocks.
In order for a company to raise its dividend for at least 25 years, it must have durable competitive advantages, highly profitable businesses, and leadership positions in their respective industries.
They also have long-term growth potential and the ability to navigate recessions while continuing to raise their dividends.
The top 7 Dividend Champions presented in this article have long histories of dividend growth, and the combination of high dividend yields, low valuations, and future earnings growth potential make them attractive buys right now.
The Dividend Champions list is not the only way to quickly screen for stocks that regularly pay rising dividends.
- The Dividend Kings List is even more exclusive than the Dividend Aristocrats. It is comprised of 54 stocks with 50+ years of consecutive dividend increases.
- The High Dividend Stocks List: stocks that appeal to investors interested in the highest yields of 5% or more.
- The Monthly Dividend Stocks List: stocks that pay dividends every month, for 12 dividend payments per year.