This is a guest contribution by Bob Ciura of Sure Dividend. Sure Dividend helps individual investors build high quality dividend growth portfolios for the long run.
The Dividend Aristocrats are a group of stocks in the S&P 500 Index with over 25 consecutive years of dividend increases. These high-quality businesses have managed recessions and various crises, while continuing to reward shareholders with dividend raises each year.
As a result, the Dividend Aristocrats are among the best dividend stocks to buy and hold for the long run.
The following 3 Dividend Aristocrats have dividend yields well above the S&P 500 average, and durable competitive advantages to continue raising their dividends in the years to come.
S&P Global (SPGI)
S&P Global is a worldwide provider of financial services and business information with revenue of about $16.5 billion. Through its various segments, it provides credit ratings, benchmarks and indices, analytics, and other data to commodity market participants, capital markets, and automotive markets.
S&P Global has paid dividends continuously since 1937 and has increased its payout for 53 consecutive years.
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S&P posted fourth quarter and full-year earnings on February 10, 2026, and results were mixed. The company beat revenue estimates slightly, with the top line rising 9.2% year-over-year to $3.92 billion, $10 million better than expected. Earnings, however, came to $4.30 per share on an adjusted basis, missing estimates by four cents.
Management noted top line growth was strong in all divisions, as revenue from subscription products rose 8% year-over-year. Earnings were off from $4.73 per share in Q3, but higher year-over-year from $3.77 in last year’s Q4. Expenses were $2.51 billion, much higher from Q3 and the year-ago period, which were $2.22 billion and $2.33 billion, respectively. Guidance for this year was set at a midpoint of $19.53 in earnings-per-share.
S&P Global has benefited from a series of favorable secular trends. Since the Great Recession in 2009, total corporate debt has been on a steady rise, which means more ratings are needed. The company continues to see higher margins while revenue grows. Moreover, there is an accelerating demand for index-related investments, such as ETFs.
The most important feature of S&P Global is its strong competitive position. It operates in the highly concentrated financial ratings industry where the three well-known rating agencies control over 90% of global financial debt ratings.
Automatic Data Processing (ADP)
Automatic Data Processing is one of the largest business services outsourcing companies in the world. The company provides payroll services, human resources technology, and other business operations to more than 700,000 corporate customers.
ADP posted second quarter earnings on January 28, 2026, and results were better than expected on both the top and bottom lines. Adjusted earnings-per-share came to $2.62, which was a nickel ahead of estimates, and was up from $2.49 in Q1, and from $2.35 in the year-ago period.
Revenue was up 7.2% year-over-year to $5.36 billion, beating estimates by $20 million. Expenses came to $4.08 billion, which was higher from $3.98 billion in Q1 and $3.88 billion a year earlier. Adjusted EBIT margin was 26.0% of revenue, up from 25.5% in Q1 and from 25.2% a year ago. The company guided for revenue growth of 6% for this year, adjusted EBIT margin of ~60 basis points, and adjusted diluted earnings-per-share growth of 9% to 10%.
Automatic Data Processing has compounded its adjusted earnings-per-share at a rate of more than 13% per year over the last decade. Looking forward, we believe the company is capable of delivering 9% annualized growth in earnings-per-share over full economic cycles.
Much of this growth is likely to be driven by the company’s Professional Employer Organization (PEO) Services segment, which continues to deliver very impressive revenue growth. Importantly, this revenue growth has been accompanied by meaningful margin expansion, which means that the segment’s growth has had an outsized impact on the firm’s bottom line.
ADP has increased its dividend for 51 years in a row.
Becton, Dickinson & Co. (BDX)
Becton, Dickinson & Co., or BD, is a global leader in the medical supply industry. The company was founded in 1897 and has 75,000 employees across 190 countries. The company generates almost $22 billion in annual revenue, with approximately 43% of revenues coming from outside of the U.S.
BD is composed of multiple segments. They include Medical Essentials, Connected Care, BioPharma Systems, Interventional, and Life Sciences.
BD announced results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2026, which ended December 31st, 2026. For the quarter, revenue improved 1.5% to $5.25 billion, which topped estimates by $100 million. Adjusted earnings-per share of $2.91 compared unfavorably to $3.43 in the prior year, but this was $0.10 more than expected.
For the quarter, Medical Essentials was down 0.6% on a currency neutral basis to $1.6 billion as gains in U.S. Vascular Access Management and the BD Vacutainer portfolio were more than offset by order timing in China. Connected Care grew 4.7% to $1.13 billion due to growth in Pharmacy Automation and strength in Advanced Patient Monitoring.
BioPharma was up 1% to $429 million due to double-digit growth in Biologics.
Interventional climbed 5.1% to $1.33 billion, mostly due to higher demand for the PureWick franchise and Advanced Tissue Regeneration.
BD provided an updated outlook for fiscal year 2026 as well. Revenue is still projected to grow at a low single-digit rate. Adjusted earnings-per-share are now expected to be in a range of $12.35 to $12.65 for the fiscal year.
BD has increased earnings-per-share 5.9% per year over the past decade, and has grown earnings in 7 out of the last 10 years. BD has increased its dividend for 54 consecutive years.
Disclosure: No positions in any stocks mentioned
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