Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Dividend Aristocrat?
A Dividend Aristocrat is a company in the S&P 500 index that has increased its dividend payout every year for at least 25 consecutive years. As of March 2026, there are 67 Dividend Aristocrats. These companies have demonstrated consistent profitability and commitment to returning capital to shareholders through decades of market cycles, recessions, and economic uncertainty. The list is maintained by S&P Dow Jones Indices and reviewed annually.
Which Dividend Aristocrat has the highest yield?
As of March 2026, Altria Group (MO) has the highest dividend yield among Dividend Aristocrats at 6.37%, followed by T. Rowe Price (TROW) at 5.75% and Franklin Resources (BEN) at 5.03%. Other high-yield aristocrats include Kimberly-Clark (KMB) at 4.90% and Hormel Foods (HRL) at 4.79%. However, high yield alone isn't always the best indicator — investors should also consider payout ratio sustainability, earnings growth, and the company's competitive position. An unusually high yield can sometimes signal that the market expects a dividend cut.
Are Dividend Aristocrats good investments?
Dividend Aristocrats have historically outperformed the broader S&P 500 with lower volatility. Their 25+ year track record of dividend increases demonstrates financial discipline and durable competitive advantages. They provide a growing income stream that can help offset inflation. However, past performance doesn't guarantee future results, and some aristocrats trade at premium valuations. The average P/E ratio for aristocrats is higher than the S&P 500 average, reflecting the market's willingness to pay a premium for dividend reliability. The ProShares S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF (NOBL) offers diversified exposure to the full group.
How many Dividend Aristocrats are there?
As of March 2026, there are 67 Dividend Aristocrats in the S&P 500. The list is reviewed annually by S&P Dow Jones Indices. Companies can be added when they reach 25 consecutive years of dividend increases, and removed if they cut or freeze their dividend, or if they exit the S&P 500 index. Industrials (16 companies) and Consumer Staples (15 companies) are the most represented sectors. Dover Corporation holds the longest streak at 71 consecutive years of increases. The number of aristocrats has grown over time as more companies reach the 25-year threshold.
What is the average yield of Dividend Aristocrats?
The average dividend yield across all 67 Dividend Aristocrats is 2.42% as of March 2026. This is nearly double the S&P 500's overall yield of approximately 1.3%. Yields range from 0.36% (West Pharmaceutical Services) to 6.37% (Altria Group). The highest-yielding sectors among aristocrats are Consumer Staples and Utilities, while Information Technology and Industrials aristocrats tend to have lower yields but often compensate with higher dividend growth rates. When combined with consistent annual increases, even a modest starting yield can compound significantly over time.
Methodology
This study includes all 67 S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats as of March 2026 — companies that have increased their annual dividend for at least 25 consecutive years.
Data sources: The complete aristocrat list, dividend yield data, and consecutive increase years were sourced from stockanalysis.com. Financial metrics including P/E ratio, forward P/E, market capitalization, and beta were individually retrieved from stockanalysis.com stock overview pages. Sector classifications follow the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS).
Limitations: Payout ratios, 5-year and 10-year dividend growth rates, and total return data were not available from our sources at crawl time and are marked as null. Stock prices and yields reflect market close data as of the crawl date and will fluctuate. This study captures a point-in-time snapshot.
Data integrity: We use null values rather than estimates for any metric we could not verify from source data. All 67 companies had ticker, yield, years increasing, and price confirmed. 66 of 67 had P/E and market cap data successfully retrieved (Brown-Forman BF.B data supplemented from secondary sources due to ticker format).
Cite this research
Westmount Research. "Dividend Aristocrats: Yield, Payout & Growth Analysis 2026." westmountresearch.com, 9 Mar. 2026, https://westmountresearch.com/dividend-aristocrats.