Oil prices surge to two-week winning streak as Iran supply fears grip markets
The Dividend Aristocrats are a group of stocks in the S&P 500 Index with over 25 consecutive years of dividend increases. These high-quality businesses have managed recessions and various crises, while continuing to reward shareholders with dividend raises each year.
As a result, the Dividend Aristocrats are among the best dividend stocks to buy and hold for the long run.
The following 3 Dividend Aristocrats have dividend yields well above the S&P 500 average, and durable competitive advantages to continue raising their dividends in the years to come.
1. PPG Industries (PPG)
PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) is the world’s largest paints and coatings company. Its only competitors of similar size are Sherwin Williams and Dutch paint company Akzo Nobel. PPG Industries was founded in 1883 today has approximately 3,500 technical employees located in more than 70 countries at 100 locations.
On July 17th, 2025, PPG Industries raised its quarterly dividend 4.4% to $0.71, extending the company’s dividend growth streak to 54 consecutive years.
On October 28th, 2025, PPG Industries reported third quarter results for the period ending September 30th, 2025. For the quarter, revenue declined 10.7% to $4.1 billion, but this was $50 million above estimates. Adjusted earnings-per-share of $2.13 matched the prior year’s result, but this was $0.05 better than expected.
Organic growth was 2% for the quarter due to higher prices and improved product volume. Revenue for Global Architectural Coatings, which was formerly part of Performance Coatings, grew 1% to $1.01 billion. Performance Coatings grew 3% to $1.41 billion due to higher prices that were offset by weaker volume. Aerospace, protective and marine coatings, and traffic solutions all were higher for the quarter.
PPG Industries repurchased ~$150 million worth of shares during Q3 and has retired ~$690 million worth of shares year-to-date. We expect PPG to grow its earnings by 7% per year going forward. Organic growth will boost EPS, as will share buybacks. Even after more than five decades of dividend growth, PPG Industries has a very low payout ratio around 37% expected for 2025.
PPG Industries’ key advantage is that it is one of just three similarly-sized companies in the coatings and paints industry, which limits its competitors. This gives PPG Industries size and scale and the ability to increase prices.
PPG currently yields 2.5%.
2. Automatic Data Processing (ADP)
Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) is one of the largest business services outsourcing companies in the world. The company provides payroll services, human resources technology, and other business operations to more than 700,000 corporate customers.
ADP posted first quarter earnings on October 29th, 2025, and results were better than expected on both the top and bottom lines. Adjusted earnings-per-share came to $2.49, which was a nickel ahead of estimates. Revenue was up 7.2% year-over-year to $5.18 billion, beating estimates by $50 million. Expenses were $3.98 billion, down from $4.03 billion in Q4, but higher from $3.70 billion a year earlier.
Adjusted EBIT margin was 25.5% of revenue, up from 23.7% in Q4 and flat to 25.5% a year ago. Employer Services revenue was $3.49 billion, up 7% year-over-year. Segment earnings were $1.23 billion, up 6%, while pretax margin was down from 35.7% of revenue to 35.2%.
PEO Services revenue was $1.69 billion, up 7% year-over-year, while segment earnings fell to $219 million. Pretax margin was 13% of revenue, off from 14.3% a year ago.
The company raised its dividend to $1.70 per share quarterly, which was up 10.4% from the prior payout. That’s the 51st consecutive year of dividend increase.
Automatic Data Processing has compounded its adjusted earnings-per-share at a rate of more than 13% per year over the last decade. Looking forward, we believe the company is capable of delivering 9% annualized growth in earnings-per-share over full economic cycles.
Much of this growth is likely to be driven by the company’s Professional Employer Organization (PEO) Services segment, which continues to deliver very impressive revenue growth. Importantly, this revenue growth has been accompanied by meaningful margin expansion, which means that the segment’s growth has had an outsized impact on the firm’s bottom line.
3. AbbVie (ABBV)
AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) is a biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing drugs for immunology, oncology and virology. AbbVie was spun off by Abbott Laboratories in 2013. Since then, AbbVie has become one of the largest players in the biotechnology industry, especially following the closing of its acquisition of Allergan.
AbbVie reported its third quarter earnings results on October 31. The company was able to generate revenues of $15.8 billion during the quarter, which was up 9% from the same quarter the year prior. AbbVie generated revenues that were ahead of what the analyst community had forecasted. AbbVie’s revenues were positively impacted by compelling growth from some of its major drugs, including Skyrizi and Rinvoq.
AbbVie earned $1.86 per share during the third quarter, which was 38% less than the company’s earnings-per-share during the previous year’s quarter. AbbVie’s earnings-per-share beat the consensus analyst estimate by $0.08 nevertheless, as analysts expected an even bigger profit decline. The profit decline was largely due to milestone expenses and acquisitions. AbbVie’s guidance for 2025’s adjusted earnings-per-share is $10.61 - $10.65 on a per-share basis.
While Humira sales continue to decline, it is expected that AbbVie will be able to reverse course in 2025, with management forecasting both a positive revenue growth rate and a positive earnings-per-share growth rate. For now, it looks like AbbVie has passed the Humira patent cliff.
ABBV has increased its dividend for 54 years. ABBV stock currently yields 3.3%.
Disclosure: No positions in any stocks mentioned