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For long-term investors, few approaches to building wealth work as reliably as owning dividend growth stocks. The income rises over time, and the businesses behind those rising payouts -- if selected carefully -- tend to have remarkable staying power.
But not every dividend growth stock looks the same.
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Three names stand out for the next decade: rural retailer Tractor Supply (NASDAQ: TSCO), beverage giant Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO), and credit card specialist American Express (NYSE: AXP). Each one comes at the dividend story from a different angle. But all of them pair growing payouts with the kind of cash generation that should keep the hikes coming for years.
With its stock down sharply over the past year, Tractor Supply may look like a name in trouble. Shares trade around $34 as of this writing -- well off the 52-week high near $64. But the dividend story remains among the most consistent in retail.
In February, the company's board lifted the quarterly dividend 4.3% to $0.24 per share, bringing the annualized payout to $0.96. That marked the company's 17th consecutive year of dividend increases. Combined with the stock's pullback, the rural retailer's dividend yield now sits around 2.7%.
And underlying its dividend is a business that is still growing, despite the stock falling recently.
In the first quarter of 2026 (the period ended March 28), Tractor Supply's net sales rose 3.6% year over year to $3.59 billion, supported by a record 40 new store openings. With that said, its earnings per share did dip to $0.31 from $0.34 a year earlier. But management reaffirmed full-year guidance of $2.13 to $2.23 -- up from $2.06 in 2025.
With a payout ratio in the mid-40% range, the dividend has plenty of room to grow.
The company is also returning significant capital. In Q1 alone, Tractor Supply returned $244.4 million to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases, building on roughly $848 million returned in 2025 -- an impressive amount for a company with a market capitalization of just $18 billion.
For investors who prize consistency, Coca-Cola is hard to top. The Atlanta-based beverage giant has now raised its dividend for 64 straight years, putting it in the company of Dividend Kings, a coveted group of companies that have raised their dividend every year for at least 50 consecutive years.
In February, Coca-Cola's board lifted the quarterly payout from $0.51 to $0.53. At the new annualized rate of $2.12, the stock yields roughly 2.6% as of this writing.
Additionally, the company is seeing strong underlying business momentum. Coca-Cola's first-quarter net revenue rose 12% year over year, and its comparable non-GAAP (adjusted) earnings per share jumped 18%. Further, management raised full-year adjusted earnings-per-share growth guidance to a range of 8% to 9% -- up from 7% to 8% previously.
And Coca-Cola's dividend looks well covered. The company generated about $11.4 billion in adjusted free cash flow in 2025 against dividends paid of roughly $8.8 billion, and management expects 2026 adjusted free cash flow to climb to about $12.2 billion.
American Express may be the most overlooked name on this list -- at least as a dividend stock. The credit card specialist offers a yield of just 1.2% as of this writing, leaving income-focused investors largely uninterested. But for those focused on dividend growth, this could be the most exciting of the three.
In March, the company hiked its quarterly dividend a whopping 16%, lifting the payout from $0.82 to $0.95 per share. Additionally, over the past five years, the dividend has more than doubled, compounding at an annual rate above 17%.
Driving these big hikes is rapid earnings growth. In Q1, American Express's total revenue, net of interest expense, rose 11% year over year to $18.9 billion, and earnings per share climbed 18% to $4.28. Billed business (effectively, what cardholders are spending) grew 10% year over year -- the strongest quarterly pace in three years.
This was the company's "highest quarterly growth [in spending] in three years," CEO Stephen Squeri said on American Express's Q1 earnings call.
With management targeting 2026 earnings per share of $17.30 to $17.90 -- about 14% growth at the midpoint -- and a payout ratio around 22%, the dividend has runway to keep climbing.
The stock is also down about 14% year to date, giving investors a more attractive entry point.
Each of these stocks comes with risks. Tractor Supply is navigating soft comparable-store sales and a weaker discretionary backdrop. Coca-Cola pays out a high share of its free cash flow, leaving less cushion for its dividend if business slows. And American Express is exposed to consumer credit cycles and any weakening in premium consumer spending.
But the strengths of these companies are also complementary. Coca-Cola anchors the group with unmatched dividend longevity, while American Express provides rapid payout growth that's rare among financial stocks. As for Tractor Supply, its dividend growth has been modest of late, but its beaten-down stock price has lifted the starting yield meaningfully -- and the long-term growth runway remains intact.
Held together over the next decade, these three dividend stocks could provide a dependable foundation for income-focused investors -- and growing payouts that should compound nicely over time.
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American Express is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Daniel Sparks and his clients have no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends American Express and Tractor Supply. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: short April 2026 $55 calls on Tractor Supply. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Top 3 Unstoppable Dividend Growth Stocks to Buy (and Hold) for the Next Decade was originally published by The Motley Fool