Dividend Growth
The 14 Largest Dividend Aristocrats Ranked by 8-Year Dividend Growth (2018–2025)
Compare how 14 established dividend growth companies increased their annual dividends from 2018 through 2025 using an indexed Dividend Growth Ladder. Explore CAGR, total dividend growth, and yield on cost while distinguishing normalized growth from actual payout amounts.
Published August 2, 2026 · Updated August 2, 2026
dividend growth · dividend growth ladder · dividend CAGR
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Introduction
The Dividend Growth Ladder highlights how consistently companies increased their annual dividends over an eight-year period. Rather than comparing raw dividend amounts, each company's first included annual dividend is indexed to 100, making it easier to compare growth rates across businesses with very different starting payouts. This visualization emphasizes dividend growth consistency, dividend CAGR, total dividend growth, and yield on cost where a purchase price is available. Because the ladders are normalized, taller ladders represent stronger relative dividend growth—not larger cash dividends.
Key insights
ADP Leads the Group
ADP finishes with the highest normalized ending value in the chart, alongside the highest dividend CAGR and the largest total dividend growth over the 2018–2025 period. Starting from the same indexed base as every other company, its ladder climbs the furthest by the end of the period.
Consistent Annual Increases Stand Out
The leading companies—including ADP, ABT, NEE, ABBV, LIN, CAT, MCD, and PEP—show positive dividend increases in every year of the dataset without dividend cuts or flat years. Their steadily rising ladders illustrate sustained dividend growth rather than isolated increases.
Indexed Growth Is Not the Same as Dividend Size
Every ladder begins at an indexed value of 100 regardless of the company's actual dividend payment. This means a company with a smaller starting dividend can finish above another company if its dividend grew faster over time. The visualization compares growth rates, not absolute dividend income.
Yield on Cost Shows Income Growth for a Historical Purchase
For companies with a recorded purchase price, the chart also displays how dividend growth affected yield on cost from the original 2018 purchase. This historical yield on cost is based on the original purchase price and should not be interpreted as the company's current dividend yield.
Methodology
Each company's annual dividend history from 2018 through 2025 is aggregated by calendar year. Because ladder normalization is enabled, every company's first included annual dividend is indexed to 100, allowing relative dividend growth to be compared across companies with different starting payout levels. Dividend CAGR and total dividend growth are displayed using DividendXray's derived metrics and are not recalculated within the visualization. Where an original purchase price is available, yield on cost is calculated from that historical purchase price rather than the current market price. Black outlines identify the single year with the largest annual dividend increase for each company.
Data as of: August 2, 2026