I'd Put $100 Into Each of These 3 Dividend Stocks and Lose the Password
Key Points
Mondelez has grown its dividend by roughly 10% annually over five years, funded by globally recognized snack brands with a payout ratio near 50%.
Tyson Foods processes roughly one-fifth of the beef, pork, and chicken sold in the U.S., a scale advantage that would benefit even without population growth.
Kraft Heinz reset its dividend in 2019 but has held it steady for more than 27 consecutive quarters since, backed by nearly $3.7 billion in annual free cash flow.
A $300 investment, split evenly across the following three stocks, isn't going to change anyone's retirement. The point of this exercise is different: finding businesses stable enough that an investor genuinely wouldn't need to check in on them for years. These three consumer goods companies make that case through what they actually do, not through a hot quarter or a trending ticker.
1. Mondelez owns snacks that don't need marketing to sell themselves
Mondelez International (NASDAQ: MDLZ) owns Oreo, Cadbury, Ritz, Chips Ahoy!, Toblerone, and Trident, selling them in more than 150 countries through a portfolio built mostly on brands that have existed for generations. That's the entire investment case here in one sentence: people buy Oreos out of habit, not because an ad convinced them to do so that week. I don't need to see a commercial to go and buy some Oreos; the taste and habit are ingrained in me.
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Mondelez has raised its dividend for 13 consecutive years, growing the payout by roughly 10% annually over the past five years. Snacking is also one of the stickier categories in food; unlike a cereal brand competing for breakfast table space, a candy bar or cracker brand mostly just needs to stay in the checkout aisle and the vending machine, locations that don't change much from decade to decade.
2. Tyson is the company standing behind most of the meat aisle
Tyson Foods (NYSE: TSN), founded in 1935, processes roughly one-fifth of the beef, pork, and chicken sold in the United States, selling under its own name as well as Jimmy Dean, Hillshire Farm, and Ball Park. That scale is the whole point. Meat is a category nobody expects to disappear, and few companies have the slaughterhouses, processing plants, and distribution networks to compete with Tyson's footprint, making it difficult for a new entrant to challenge the business, regardless of what else is happening in the broader economy.
Tyson has raised its dividend for 14 consecutive years, a shorter streak than some packaged food peers, but one built on a business that benefits from population growth alone; more people simply means more meat sold, year after year, independent of any single product trend.
3. Kraft Heinz: a brand cabinet full of staples people already trust
Kraft Heinz (NYSE: KHC) owns Heinz ketchup, Kraft Mac & Cheese, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia cream cheese, and Jell-O, brands that sit in most American kitchens without anyone thinking twice about where they came from -- an impressive feat.
It hasn't all been smooth sailing. The company did reset its dividend lower back in 2019, and in 2021 it agreed to pay $62 million to settle SEC charges that it improperly inflated earnings.
Since then, Kraft Heinz has held its quarterly payout steady for more than 27 consecutive quarters, backed by $3.7 billion in free cash flow last fiscal year, cash the company has used to pay down well over $2 billion in debt.
The company is struggling with declining sales, profitability, and a $7.4 billion impairment charge, but a brand cabinet this deep doesn't need to win new customers so much as it needs to avoid losing the ones it already has, and a stabilized balance sheet gives it room to keep doing exactly that.
These three companies sell everyday essentials that people buy on autopilot, making them strong candidates for long-term dividend investing. Kraft has spent years addressing past missteps and strengthening its balance sheet, while Tyson benefits from the enduring demand for meat. Mondelez, meanwhile, owns brands that command valuable shelf space and consumer loyalty.
These may not be exciting stocks, but their durable businesses and familiar products could reward patient investors who buy, reinvest dividends, and hold for the long term. So, when I say "forget the password," I mean these tickers are a solid buy regardless of the time of year or the state of the economy. They are safe buys to carry you for years down the road.
Micah Zimmerman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Kraft Heinz. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.