Every quarterly earnings season seems to include at least a few dividend hikes as companies report their earnings, with the more successful ones spending more on shareholder compensation.
The most notable rate hikes announced in the first three months of 2026 (covering the final quarter of 2025) were from two super-well-known companies. Not only are these two companies well-known and well-respected, they are also Dividend Kings—a small group of stocks that have announced dividend increases every year for at least 50 consecutive years. So let’s briefly focus on the recently announced enhancements Coca Cola(NYSE:KO) and Walmart(NASDAQ: WMT).
Will artificial intelligence create the world’s first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on a little-known company that has been described as an “essential monopoly” that provides critical technology that both Nvidia and Intel need. continue”
Coca-Cola’s streak of dividend hikes preceded many of its investors. In mid-February, the company announced its 64th consecutive year of gains, increasing its quarterly dividend by nearly 4% to $0.53 per common share.
Image source: Getty Images.
To give you an idea of ​​the sheer size of the beverage giant’s dividends and how important they are to management, the company spent $8.8 billion (yes, that’s a billion) on shareholder payouts last year. Spending since the beginning of 2010 totals nearly $102 billion.
This level of return isn’t too outrageous, since in many ways Coca-Cola is a great example of a strong global business. It’s hard to imagine an inhabited place on the planet that doesn’t sell the company’s namesake drink (or one of its hundreds of other products).
Coca-Cola is also very focused and unswervingly committed to becoming a pure-play beverage manufacturer. It also runs a high-margin business because it primarily supplies ingredients for a variety of beverages and outsources the production and distribution of the (sometimes) higher-cost end products to partners and franchisees.
With this solid business model built on huge brand awareness and recognition, Coca-Cola is reliably profitable. In fact, the last time it posted a loss under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) was nearly a decade ago in the fourth quarter of 2017 (when more production and distribution was handled in-house). In 2025, full-year net revenue will increase 2% to nearly $48 billion, while profitability will soar 23% to more than $13 billion.
Coca-Cola is one of the few companies that can deliver returns to shareholders year after year, decade after decade. Growth may not always hit the double digits of the 2025 bottom line, but it usually improves at least slightly. This is the stock of income that can be deposited in a bank.
The company last raised its dividend and the dividend yield will be 2.6%. The upcoming distribution will be distributed on April 1 to investors of record as of March 13.
Wal-Mart can be called the king of American retail. The company’s large stores can be found everywhere in our territory, and it is almost impossible to find one that is not packed with customers during peak hours. Like Coca-Cola, Walmart has been very consistent in announcing dividend increases. The consecutive No. 53 ranking was announced on the same day as Coca-Cola’s rise. For the retailer’s part, shares rose 5% to nearly $0.25 per share.
The news coincides with the company’s release of fourth-quarter and full-year fiscal 2026 earnings. Walmart’s total revenue grew nearly 5% this year to more than $713 billion (again, that’s not “millions”), driven by comparable sales growth (always a key performance indicator for retailers) and growing at a similar rate. GAAP net income rose nearly 14% to just under $21.9 billion.
These are very strong growth numbers for a company of this size and strength. One of the strengths that Walmart has been leveraging effectively is its passion for technology and innovation. It has wholeheartedly embraced e-commerce and, with its massive brick-and-mortar presence, has been using its large stores as distribution centers. This, coupled with large-scale logistics operations, makes it a powerful force in the e-commerce space.
All told, Walmart’s global e-commerce sales grew 24% year over year in the fourth quarter alone.
I don’t think this story is coming to an end. Analysts and the company are forecasting revenue and profit growth. The former group collectively expects the company’s fiscal 2027 revenue to grow nearly 5% again, with net earnings per share rising 11%.
Many market professionals and investors believe that Wal-Mart is the best, or even the only, U.S. retail stock worth owning. With the growth, influence, and power they’ve demonstrated, I’m inclined to believe them. I don’t think you can go wrong investing in and holding this stock.
Walmart’s upcoming dividend is scheduled to be paid on April 6 to shareholders of record as of March 20. Sadly, this isn’t a high-yielding dividend, as its dividend yield is just 0.8% (but such a low dividend yield is more a reflection of Walmart’s recent strong stock price performance).
Before buying Coca-Cola stock, consider the following factors:
this Motley Fool Stock Advisor The analytics team has just identified what they believe is 10 Best Stocks For investors to buy now… Coca-Cola is not one of them. The 10 stocks selected could generate huge returns in the coming years.
consider when Netflix This list was created on December 17, 2004… If you invested $1,000 when we recommended, You will have $456,188!* or when NVIDIA This list was created on April 15, 2005… If you invested $1,000 when we recommended, You will have $1,133,413!*
Now, it’s worth noting stock advisor The overall average return is 916% — outperformed the market compared to the S&P 500’s 194%. Don’t miss the latest top 10 list, available via stock advisorand join an investment community built by individual investors for individual investors.
See 10 stocks »
*Stock Advisor returned on February 27, 2026.
Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a position at and recommends Walmart. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
These Two Dividend Kings Just Announced Dividend Increases Originally published by The Motley Fool
