McDonald's has raised its dividend for 50 consecutive years, becoming a Dividend King in 2026. In September it lifted its quarterly dividend to $1.93 per share, a 4% increase over the prior quarter. The stock is down 23% year to date, trading near a 52-week low at $235 per share, hurt by inflation, higher costs and the loss of some lower-income customers. In the second quarter, revenue rose 4%, systemwide sales 5%, comp sales 1.3% and earnings 6%, though U.S. comp sales grew only 0.8%. On Sept. 23 the company unveiled its NEXT strategy, investing $8.5 billion through 2036 and targeting a 50% operating margin by 2030, with a forward P/E of 17.
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McDonald's raised its dividend to $1.93 per share in September, a 4% increase, marking 50 consecutive years of dividend growth and making it a Dividend King. The stock has fallen 23% year to date to about $235, near a 52-week low, hurt by inflation, higher costs and the loss of some lower-income customers to higher menu prices. In the second quarter, revenue rose 4%, systemwide sales 5% and earnings 6%, but U.S. comparable sales grew only 0.8%, an area that the new McDonald's USA president, Skye Anderson, will need to improve. Under its NEXT strategy announced Sept. 23, McDonald's plans to invest $8.5 billion through 2036 and targets a 50% operating margin by 2030, while its forward P/E of 17 is the lowest since the 2020 COVID crash. The author argues that if the strategy succeeds, McDonald's will have ample capital to support its dividend for years to come.
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The article argues AbbVie is not a high-yield trap, because its free cash flow is sufficient to cover its quarterly dividend of $1.73 per share, and most of its $70.8 billion debt is in fixed-rate notes. AbbVie has raised its dividend for 54 consecutive years, qualifying it as a Dividend King, a group of stocks that have raised dividends for at least 50 years. Skyrizi and Rinvoq together brought in over $7.5 billion in the second quarter of 2026, more than the $6.1 billion paid in dividends that quarter, and the company has about 90 programs in development, around 60 of them in mid- or late-stage studies. The dividend yield of 2.5% is lower than before because the share price has risen faster than dividends, and the article notes that pipeline setbacks remain a risk.
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