Dividend Contenders (2026)

Dividend Contenders as emerging dividend leaders

Dividend Contenders are companies with long dividend growth records that sit just below Dividend Aristocrat status. Many investors track this group because it can include businesses that are approaching a 25-year streak but may still have different growth, valuation, or sector characteristics than the better-known Aristocrats. A Contender can be interesting when it combines a durable business model with a payout ratio that leaves room for continued dividend increases. These companies may not yet have the same brand recognition as the Dividend Aristocrats, but their dividend histories can still show meaningful consistency. Use this page to compare Dividend Contenders by yield, payout ratio, five-year dividend growth, and sector exposure. The live table helps surface companies that may be building toward elite dividend growth status. As always, dividend streaks should be evaluated alongside fundamentals. A company can have a strong historical record while still facing future pressure from debt, margin compression, regulation, or changing demand.

Dividend stock screen

Symbol Company Yield Payout 5Y Growth Sector Mkt Cap
A Agilent Technologies, Inc. 0.79% 20% 15.2% Technology $36.7B
AAPL Apple Inc. 0.37% 13% 5.0% Technology $4.3T
ABBV AbbVie Inc. 3.08% 326% 6.8% Health Care $402.4B
ABT Abbott Laboratories 2.81% 67% 10.6% Health Care $153.6B
ACN Accenture plc 3.89% 51% 8.4% Technology $104.8B
ADI Analog Devices, Inc. 1.07% 61% 9.8% Technology $203.5B
AEE Ameren Corporation 2.77% 52% 7.3% Utilities $30.2B
AEP American Electric Power 2.96% 56% 5.7% Utilities $70.3B
AES The AES Corporation 4.80% 37% 4.3% Utilities $10.5B
AFG American Financial Group 2.66% 32% 60.8% Financials $11.1B
AGCO AGCO Corporation 1.08% 11% 14.8% Industrials $8.1B
AJG Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 1.27% 43% 7.6% Industrials $56.2B
AL Air Lease Corporation 0.01% 9% 7.7% Industrials $7.3B
ALE ALLETE, Inc. - - -1.8% Utilities -
ALG Alamo Group Inc. 0.83% 15% 18.4% Industrials $1.9B
ALL The Allstate Corporation 1.97% 9% 14.3% Financials $57.1B
AMGN Amgen Inc. 2.85% 67% 8.3% Health Care $191.7B
AMSF AMERISAFE, Inc. 5.16% 65% 3.4% Financials $590M
AMT American Tower Corporation 3.69% 82% 8.6% Real Estate $87.2B
AON Aon plc 0.98% 16% 4.7% Financials $71.6B
APH Amphenol Corporation 0.66% 24% 23.9% Technology $189.2B
APOG Apogee Enterprises, Inc. 2.71% 42% 6.7% Industrials $857M
AUB Atlantic Union Bankshares 3.67% 61% 6.8% Financials $5.8B
AVA Avista Corporation 4.68% 78% 3.9% Utilities $3.5B
AVGO Broadcom Inc. 0.68% 41% 12.6% Technology $1.8T
AVNT Avient Corporation 3.01% 63% 5.7% Materials $3.5B
AVT Avnet, Inc. 1.58% 53% 10.2% Technology $7.4B
AVY Avery Dennison Corporation 2.52% 42% 9.4% Materials $12.2B
AWK American Water Works 2.88% 59% 8.6% Utilities $24.7B
BAH Booz Allen Hamilton 3.06% 32% 12.2% Industrials $9.3B
BBY Best Buy Co., Inc. 4.98% 71% 12.2% Consumer Discreti… $16.6B
BC Brunswick Corporation 2.16% 193% 12.1% Industrials $5.4B
BFC Bank First Corporation 1.35% 26% 25.1% Financials $1.6B
BHB Bar Harbor Bankshares 3.55% 52% 7.4% Financials $619M
BIP Brookfield Infrastructure 4.74% 264% 0.6% Financials $30.2B
BLK BlackRock, Inc. 2.25% 54% 7.7% Financials $168.1B
BMY Bristol-Myers Squibb 4.43% 70% 3.5% Health Care $116.7B
BOKF BOK Financial Corporation 1.87% 24% 3.7% Financials $8.2B
BR Broadridge Financial Solutions 2.69% 41% 10.7% Technology $16.8B
BWXT BWX Technologies, Inc. 0.53% 27% 5.7% Industrials $17.7B
CAH Cardinal Health, Inc. 0.93% 31% 1.0% Health Care $52.4B
CASS Cass Information Systems 2.59% 54% 3.0% Technology $636M
CBOE Cboe Global Markets, Inc. 0.97% 24% -0.6% Financials $30.9B
CBT Cabot Corporation 2.13% 34% 4.9% Materials $4.5B
CDW CDW Corporation 1.95% 31% 10.5% Technology $16.9B
CGNX Cognex Corporation 0.53% 39% 3.1% Technology $10.6B
CHCO City Holding Company 2.71% 37% 15.6% Financials $1.8B
CHCT Community Healthcare Trust 10.66% 1579% 2.3% Real Estate $512M
CHE Chemed Corporation 0.57% 13% 11.0% Consumer Staples $5.6B
CIVB Civista Bancshares, Inc. 2.69% 26% 9.2% Financials $566M

Related topics

FAQ

Contenders vs Aristocrats?
Contenders have shorter dividend growth streaks (often 10–24 years) compared to the 25+ year requirement for Aristocrats.