The DivGro Weekly—04.04.25

189 Consecutive dividend increases

Weekly Dividend Progress

This week we received further real-time, tangible evidence of outstanding business progress when we received our quarterly dividends from Wingstop, Pepsico, ADP and Nike, and became entitled to our dividends from FirstService and Stryker, all meaningfully higher than this time last year.

How We Are Tracking

Since DivGro's inception we have predicted and benefited from 189 consecutive dividend increases across our portfolio companies, with no decreases. The average rate of these dividend increases is 14.61%.

Stryker

What does a dividend growth star look like in action? Since its maiden dividend in 1993, Stryker, our medtech leader, has expertly balanced the needs of its investors, and its internal investment opportunities, with aplomb. While accommodating shareholders who desired some tangible reward, i.e. rising cash dividends, Stryker has simultaneously deftly reinvested the bulk of its profits to grow sales from $100 million in 1985 to more than $20 billion today. As for its dividend? The small initial allocation it paid out to investors has grown exponentially, compounding at a remarkable average annualised rate of ~16 per cent. This has created an outsized, ongoing and persistently rising dividend for those early discerning shareholders, and supported a capital value increase that has solidified the company’s rank among the uppermost echelons of stock market success stories. As Stryker’s Mako robotics division enjoys significant tailwinds, thanks to an ageing but active population, the company’s future, buttressed by its peerless sales, marketing and distribution force, appears poised for accelerated growth and a long continuation of its superb dividend trajectory.