These 7 Elite Dividend Stocks Pay $114 Billion Annually, Combined, to Their Shareholders

2026-03-08 12:26:00 ET

There are countless ways for investors to make money on Wall Street, but few are as consistently successful as buying and holding high-quality dividend stocks. Based on a study by Hartford Funds, in collaboration with Ned Davis Research ("The Power of Dividends: Past, Present, and Future"), dividend stocks have more than doubled the annualized return of non-payers over more than half a century (1973-2024): 9.2% vs. 4.31%.

While it's probably not a surprise that dividend stocks have a track record of outperforming, you might be shocked to learn that some of the biggest dividend payers on the planet aren't necessarily the highest-yielding stocks. You can find higher yields than Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) , ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) , and JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) , but you'd struggle to find public companies with more generous dividend programs on a nominal-dollar basis than this trio.

Collectively, seven of Wall Street's most influential businesses are returning more than $114 billion annually to their shareholders through dividends.

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