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A high yield today isn't the whole story. What consistent dividend increases over years mean, and why that consistency can be a more important signal than the yield itself.
Dividend yield (see the separate guide) measures how much a company pays in dividends relative to the stock's current price — a snapshot. Dividend growth measures a different pace: whether the company consistently raises its dividend year after year. A company can start with a relatively low yield, but if it consistently raises the dividend 8-10% a year, the effective yield on your original investment grows over time.
A company that maintains a streak of dividend increases across decades in a row (known as 'Dividend Aristocrats' when it's 25+ consecutive years within the S&P 500) signals genuine cash-flow stability — management doesn't raise a dividend unless it's confident it can sustain it even in a bad year. The streak itself is a signal of reliability, not just a number.
A sharp earnings slowdown, a cash-flow crisis, or a strategic shift (refocusing on growth instead of returning capital, for example) can break a decades-long streak all at once — so the pace and history of dividend growth matter, but they're no guarantee of the future.
The stock page shows the actual dividend payment history, so users can see the growth trend (or lack of it) for themselves — a real raw data point, not a separately computed score.
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The information in this guide is intended for general educational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Full details on the disclaimer page.