Welcome back to another edition of upcoming dividend increases. I encourage investors to consider the power of dividend stocks—your pathway to steady, rising income. There’s nothing like sitting back and collecting regular paychecks from everyday companies simply by holding their shares. Adopting a dividend growth strategy encourages your returns to grow, making your financial future brighter. Now is a great time to invest in dividend stocks and enjoy the financial rewards they bring.
Furthermore, companies that regularly raise their dividends tend to be great long-term investments. Dividend increases suggest financial strength and stability, indicating that a company can generate reliable cash flow. Moreover, it also requires deliberate capital allocation planning by management to make it a core tenet of the business. Additionally, consistent dividend growth typically indicates that a company is generating reliable cash flow, which in turn enables it to offer investors a combination of income and capital appreciation.
Specifically, from the broader universe of investable stocks, I focus on those with a proven track record of annual dividend increases. In particular, I watch dividend increase announcements and combine those with other supporting data points. Ultimately, this information is core to my investment process. Previously, after writing about dividend increases on Seeking Alpha for some time, I’ve moved my analysis here to my own platform where I can share insights without the editorial constraints that limited the depth and quality of my research. I’m excited to bring you this valuable dividend intelligence directly, helping you make more informed investment decisions.
This week, I’ll spotlight another group of companies and provide more detail on both the selections and the methodology behind them.
Understanding Upcoming Dividend Increases
A few highlights from this week’s list:
- Average dividend increase: 6.9% (median: 6.7%)
- Average dividend streak: 23 years (median: 14 years)
Ultimately, my strategy focuses on buying, holding, and adding to positions in companies that raise their dividends annually and have the potential to outperform relevant benchmarks over time.
To help you understand the data, let me explain my methodology.
How I Create the Lists
Specifically, the information presented here is the result of combining multiple data sources: the “U.S. Dividend Champions” spreadsheet provides the universe of companies I review, and then upcoming dividend announcements. This combination joins data on companies with a track record of consistent dividend growth and the timeliness of their dividend increases. It’s important to note that every company on this list has at least 5 years of dividend growth history.
Additionally, to be considered for this list, a company must offer higher total annual dividends. Although a company might not increase its dividend every calendar year, its overall annual dividend can still grow.
What Is the Ex-Dividend Date?
To understand when you need to own shares, the ex-dividend date is when you must own shares to qualify for an upcoming dividend or distribution. To be eligible, you must have bought the shares by the end of the preceding business day. For instance, if the ex-dividend date is Tuesday, you must have acquired the shares by the market close on Monday. If the ex-dividend date falls on a Monday (or a Tuesday following a holiday on Monday), you must have purchased the shares by the previous Friday.
Dividend Streak Categories
Below are the definitions of the streak categories that I’ll use throughout the piece.
- King: 50+ years.
- Champion/Aristocrat: 25+ years.
- Contender: 10-24 years.
- Challenger: 5+ years.
| Category | Count |
| King | 1 |
| Champion | 0 |
| Contender | 1 |
| Challenger | 1 |
This Week’s Dividend Increases
Below, you’ll find the complete list. The data is sorted by the ex-dividend date (ascending) and then by the streak (descending):
| Name | Ticker | Streak | Forward Yield | Ex-Div Date | Increase Percent | Streak Category |
| Zoetis Inc. Class A | (ZTS) | 14 | 1.69 | 20-Jan-2026 | 6.00% | Contender |
| Carrier Global Corporation Common Stock | (CARR) | 7 | 1.73 | 20-Jan-2026 | 6.67% | Challenger |
| Pentair plc. Ordinary Share | (PNR) | 50 | 1.04 | 23-Jan-2026 | 8.00% | King |
Understanding the Data
Streak: Years of dividend growth history are sourced from the U.S. Dividend Champions spreadsheet.
Forward Yield: The payout rate is calculated by dividing the new payout rate by the current share price.
Ex-Dividend Date: This is the date by which you must own the stock to receive the dividend.
Increase Percent: The percent increase.
Streak Category: This is the company’s overall dividend history classification.
Show Me the Money
Here is a table that shows the new and old rates and the percentage increase. The table is sorted by ex-dividend day in ascending order and dividend streak in descending order.
Additional Metrics
Here are additional metrics related to these companies. Some data points include yearly pricing action and the P/E ratio. The table is sorted the same way as the table above.
| Ticker | Price | 52W Low | 52W High | PE Ratio | % Off High |
| ZTS | 125.81 | 115.25 | 181.85 | 45.63 | 31% Off High |
| CARR | 55.60 | 50.30 | 81.09 | 0.00 | 31% Off High |
| PNR | 104.12 | 74.25 | 113.95 | 24.16 | 9% Off High |
Tickers by Yield and Growth Rates
I’ve organized the table in descending order, allowing investors to prioritize the current yield. Additionally, the table includes some historical dividend growth rates. I’ve also incorporated the “Chowder Rule,” which combines the current yield with the five-year dividend growth rate.
| Ticker | Yield | 1 Yr DG | 3 Yr DG | 10 Yr DG |
| CARR | 1.73 | 18.4 | 14.5 | n/a |
| ZTS | 1.69 | 15.7 | 15.4 | 19.7 |
| PNR | 1.04 | 8.7 | 6.0 | 1.5 |
Investment Considerations
While all three companies in this week’s list demonstrate commitment to dividend growth, two stand out as particularly compelling investment opportunities for dividend-focused investors.
Carrier Global (CARR) presents an attractive opportunity for investors seeking both income and growth potential. The company’s recent dividend increase of 6.67% reflects management’s confidence in its financial position and future cash flow generation. With a 7-year dividend growth streak, CARR is building a solid track record of returning value to shareholders. The company operates in the essential HVAC and building solutions sector, which provides defensive characteristics while still offering growth potential as infrastructure modernization continues globally. Additionally, CARR’s current yield of 1.73% combined with its commitment to dividend growth makes it an appealing option for investors looking to build a position in a company that’s still in the early stages of establishing its dividend growth culture.
Pentair (PNR) stands out as a dividend champion with an impressive 50-year dividend growth streak, earning it the prestigious “King” classification. This remarkable track record demonstrates exceptional management discipline and the company’s ability to generate consistent cash flow across multiple economic cycles. PNR’s recent 8% dividend increase, the highest among this week’s selections, signals strong financial health and management’s optimism about future prospects. The company’s focus on water treatment and pool equipment positions it well in markets with long-term growth drivers, including water quality concerns and the trend toward outdoor living spaces. For investors seeking a proven dividend aristocrat with both income stability and growth potential, PNR represents a compelling opportunity to own a piece of dividend royalty.
Both CARR and PNR offer investors the opportunity to participate in companies that are actively growing their shareholder returns through dividend increases. While past performance doesn’t guarantee future results, these companies’ commitment to dividend growth, combined with their operational strengths, makes them worthy of consideration for dividend-focused portfolios.
Historical Returns
My investment strategy focuses on identifying stocks that consistently outperform the market and grow their dividend payouts over time. For broad exposure to U.S. equity markets, excluding the REIT sector, I recommend the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD).
SCHD features strong historical performance, offers a yield that exceeds that of the S&P 500, and consistently delivers increasing dividends. With over $70 in assets, it’s an incredibly popular dividend-growth ETF. The ten-year dividend growth rate is one of the four key factors that SCHD tracks in its index.
Based on this analysis and further due diligence, I have included several companies in my portfolio and will sometimes make timely purchases of existing holdings. The charts below assume dividends are reinvested.
The data here is adjusted for CARR as it only goes back to March 2020. Our benchmark SCHD (represented by the orange line) returned 176% over the the time period, a solid return. As I mentioned above, I lose interest in individual holdings if they can’t at least match that. So that instantly excludes ZTS, which is only up 28% since the beginning of 2020, not a strong showing at all.
That leaves both Carrier Global and Pentair as interesting companies to look at. Both finished with nearly identical returns, with CARR at about 398% and PNR at 373%, though CARR was a much higher flier recently.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on my strategy, so feel free to share yours in the comments below! As always, do your due diligence before making any investment decisions.
For more detailed information about stock return calculations for these companies, you can use our Stock Return Calculator with ZTS, CARR, PNR, and SCHD pre-loaded for a 10-year analysis.
