5 Dividend Powerhouses to Buy and Forget: A 10-Year Hold Strategy

Looking for stocks that actually pay you to wait? Here’s the thing about dividend investing – most people get it wrong. They chase 10% yields that collapse within a year. The real money comes from companies that’ve been quietly raising payouts for decades.

I’ve dug into the numbers, and these five stocks represent different sectors (pharma, finance, energy, real estate, telecom) but share one thing in common: rock-solid dividend growth records. Let’s break down why they’re worth your attention over the next decade.

AbbVie (ABBV) – The Elite Dividend King

Here’s a stat that’ll blow your mind: AbbVie has increased its dividend for 53 consecutive years. That puts it in an ultra-exclusive club of so-called “Dividend Kings.” The current yield sits at ~3%, which might sound modest until you factor in the growth.

What makes this pharma giant more interesting right now is the pipeline. Their autoimmune drugs (Rinvoq, Skyrizi) are printing money – we’re talking real blockbuster potential. Over the next decade, expect the dividend to keep climbing while the stock appreciates. This is the “boring but beautiful” play.

Ares Capital (ARCC) – The High-Yield Wild Card

Yes, that 9.8% forward yield is real. And no, you’re not missing something. As a business development company (BDC), Ares Capital lends to private companies – a market estimated at $5.4 trillion and growing. They’ve kept the dividend going strong for 16+ consecutive years.

The secret sauce? These guys are the largest publicly traded BDC with deep relationships across the private lending space. As the private credit market explodes (banks keep tightening, so middle-market companies need alternatives), Ares is positioned to capture that flow. Higher risk than the others here, but the dividend looks sustainable based on their track record.

Enbridge (ENB) – Energy’s Quiet Winner

Enbridge moves 30% of North America’s crude and 20% of U.S. natural gas. That’s not a fun fact – that’s a moat. They’ve raised dividends for 30 straight years, and the 5.6% yield is no joke.

Here’s what most people sleep on: AI data centers are becoming energy monsters. These facilities guzzle power like nothing else, and natural gas is still the backbone of U.S. power generation. Enbridge’s pipeline infrastructure directly benefits from this mega-trend. The energy transition isn’t killing this business – it’s quietly transforming it. Low-risk, high-reliability cash flow for a decade.

Realty Income (O) – The “Monthly Paycheck” REIT

REIT nerds know this one already: Realty Income has a 112-quarter streak of consecutive dividend hikes. That’s 28 years of unbroken growth, paid out monthly (hence the nickname “The Monthly Dividend Company”).

Their portfolio is absurdly diversified – 15,542 properties across 1,647 tenants spanning 92 industries. Occupancy has never dipped below 96.6%. Bad debt expenses? Hovering around 0.4% since 2014. These numbers don’t lie.

The real sleeper here is Europe. Realty Income’s addressable market globally is $14 trillion, with Europe still largely untapped. They’ve got minimal competition there. A decade of steady rent collection + international expansion = steady dividend growth ahead.

Verizon (VZ) – The Telecom Dark Horse

Verizon just hit 19 consecutive years of dividend increases, and that 6.7% yield keeps getting better as the stock moves around. But here’s the forward-looking angle: 6G networks.

Industry analysts expect 6G to go mainstream around 2030. We’re talking hologram technology, extended reality, and infrastructure that’ll make 5G look like dial-up. Verizon is leading the R&D push here. Over the next 10 years, this isn’t just about maintaining the dividend – it’s about positioning yourself before the next capex supercycle hits.

The Bottom Line

These five stocks span different risk/reward profiles, but they all share something rare: multi-decade track records of actual dividend growth (not hype, not manipulation – growth). The energy and REIT plays offer chunky yields now (5.6%-5.7%). The BDC delivers higher income but with more volatility. Pharma and telecom offer steadier, slower burn.

Over 10 years, the compounding effect of reinvested dividends + underlying stock appreciation could be significant. More importantly, you’re buying into businesses with proven staying power.

The question isn’t whether these pay dividends. It’s whether you can sit still while they do.