The driving force behind the recent volatility in the stock and bond markets can be boiled down to one specific item: the threat of tariffs and a global trade war. The moving target of quotas and which sectors will be hurt the most is a question that is constantly being reframed across Wall Street. One thing is sure: tariffs can benefit domestic manufacturing and resource production sectors by making imported goods more expensive and thus increasing demand for domestically produced alternatives. Research indicates that industries like steel and aluminum, agriculture, and domestic resource production often see a boost from tariffs.

Investors seeking defensive companies that pay substantial dividends are drawn to the Dividend Aristocrats, and with good reason. The 66 companies that made the cut for the 2025 S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats list have increased their dividends (not just maintained the same level) for 25 consecutive years. But the requirements go even further, with the following attributes also mandatory for membership on the dividend aristocrats list:

• Companies must be worth at least $3 billion for each quarterly rebalancing.
• Average daily volume must be at least $5 million transactions for every trailing three-month period at every quarterly rebalancing date.
• Companies must be member of the S&P 500.

We screened the 2025 Dividend Aristocrats to identify the companies Wall Street endorses for passive income investors. Passive income is a steady stream of unearned income that does not require active traditional work. Ideas for earning passive income include investments, real estate, and side hustles. We further screened the group, looking for companies with the least negligible impact from the tariffs, and found five outstanding ideas. They all have rock-solid balance sheets and are Buy-rated by top Wall Street firms.

Why do we cover the Dividend Aristocrats?

S&P 500 companies that have paid and raised their dividends for 25 years or longer are the types that growth and income investors want to buy and hold in their stock portfolios for the long term. These stocks are mostly conservative, and should we see a dramatic market correction, they will likely keep their ground much better than volatile technology names.

AbbVie

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE: ABBV) is ranked sixth among the most prominent biomedical companies in terms of revenue. This stock is one of the top pharmaceutical stock picks on Wall Street and is an excellent choice for long-term ownership. AbbVie discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells pharmaceuticals worldwide.

The company offers:

• Humira, an injection for autoimmune and intestinal Behçet’s diseases and pyoderma gangrenosum
• Skyrizi to treat moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, psoriatic disease, and Crohn’s disease
• Rinvoq to treat rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, atopic dermatitis, axial spondyloarthropathy, ulcerative colitis, and Crohn’s disease.
• Imbruvica for the treatment of adult patients with blood cancers; Epkinly to treat lymphoma
• Elahere to treat cancer
• Venclexta/Venclyxto to treat blood cancers

It also provides:

• Facial injectables, plastics and regenerative medicine, body contouring, and skin care products
• Botox therapeuticraylar for depressive disorder
• Duopa and Duodopa to treat advanced Parkinson’s disease
• Ubrelvy for the acute treatment of migraine in adults
• Qulipta for episodic and chronic migraine

In addition, the company offers Ozurdex for eye diseases, Lumigan/Ganfort, and Alphagan/Combigan for reducing elevated intraocular pressure in patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension. The company also offers Restasis to increase tear production and other eye care products.

Further, it provides:

• Mavyret/Maviret to treat chronic hepatitis C virus genotype 1-6 infection
• Creon, a pancreatic enzyme therapy
• Lupron to treat advanced prostate cancer, endometriosis, and central precocious puberty, and patients with anemia caused by uterine fibroids
• Linzess/Constella to treat irritable bowel syndrome with constipation and chronic idiopathic constipation
• Synthroid for hypothyroidism

Wells Fargo has an Overweight rating and a $240 target price.

Consolidated Edison

Consolidated Edison Inc. (NYSE: ED) is one of the largest investor-owned energy companies in the United States. This old-school utility stock offers income investors the stability and track record many seek now. Consolidated Edison engages in the regulated electric, gas, and steam delivery businesses in the United States.

It offers electric services to approximately:

• 3.6 million customers in New York City and Westchester County
• Gas to about 1.1 million customers in Manhattan, the Bronx, parts of Queens, and Westchester County
• Steam to approximately 1,530 customers in parts of Manhattan

The company also supplies electricity to approximately 0.3 million customers in southeastern New York and northern New Jersey and gas to about 0.1 million customers in southeastern New York.

In addition, it operates:

• 543 circuit miles of transmission lines
• 15 transmission substations
• 63 distribution substations
• 87,951 in-service line transformers
• 3,869 pole miles of overhead distribution lines
• 2,320 miles of underground distribution lines
• 4,359 miles of mains
• 377,741 service lines for natural gas distribution

Consolidated Edison owns, develops, and operates renewable and energy infrastructure projects, provides energy-related products and services to wholesale and retail customers, and invests in electric and gas transmission projects.

Citigroup has a Buy rating on the shares with a $121 target.

Exxon Mobil

Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) manages an industry-leading portfolio of resources and is one of the world’s largest integrated fuels, lubricants, and chemical companies. Consistent oil benchmark pricing trading just above the $60 level presents investors with an excellent entry point into this energy behemoth. Exxon is the world’s largest international integrated oil and gas company, exploring for and producing crude oil and natural gas in:

• The United States
• Canada
• South America
• Europe
• Africa
• Asia
• Australia/Oceania

Exxon also manufactures and markets commodity petrochemicals, including olefins, aromatics, polyethylene, polypropylene plastics, and specialty products. Additionally, the company transports and sells crude oil, natural gas, and petroleum products.

Top Wall Street analysts expect Exxon to remain a key beneficiary in a stable oil price environment. Most remain very optimistic about the company’s sharp positive inflection in its capital allocation strategy, upstream portfolio, and leverage, which will further drive demand recovery. Exxon also offers greater Downstream/Chemicals exposure than its peers.

The company completed its purchase of oil shale giant Pioneer Natural Resources in May 2024 in an all-stock transaction valued at $59.5 billion. The deal created the largest U.S. oilfield producer and guaranteed a decade of low-cost production.

UBS has a Buy rating with a $131 target price.

Kenvue

Spun off from Johnson & Johnson, Inc. (NYSE: JNJ) in May of 2023, this potential total return home run is a strong consumer staples stock that typically fares well in volatile markets. Kenvue Inc. (NYSE: KVUE) is a global consumer health company.

The company operates through three segments:

• Self Care
• Skin Health and Beauty
• Essential Health

The self-care segment offers cough, cold, and allergy pain care, digestive health, smoking cessation, and other products under these brands:

• Tylenol
• Nicorette
• Zyrtec

The Skin Health and Beauty segment provides face and body care, hair care, sun care, and other products under these brands:

• Neutrogena
• Aveeno
• OGX

The Essential Health segment offers oral and baby, women’s health, and wound care products under these brands:

• Listerine
• Johnson’s
• Band-Aid
• Stayfree

Piper Sandler has an Overweight rating with a $27 target price.

PepsiCo

This top consumer staples stock reported mixed first-quarter earnings, but sales exceeded estimates. PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP) is a worldwide food and beverage company. It will continue to supply all the goods for summer vacation picnics and parties.

Its Frito-Lay North America segment offers:

• Lays and Ruffles potato chips
• Doritos, Tostitos, and Santitas tortilla chips
• Cheetos cheese-flavored snacks, branded dips
• Fritos corn chips

The company’s Quaker Foods North America segment provides:

• Quaker Oatmeal
• Grits
• Rice cakes
• Natural granola and oat squares
• Pearl Milling mixes and syrups
• Quaker Chewy granola bars
• Cap’n Crunch cereal
• Life cereal
• Rice-A-Roni side dishes

PepsiCo’s North America Beverages segment offers beverage concentrates, fountain syrups, and finished goods under these brands:

• Pepsi
• Gatorade
• Mountain Dew
• Diet Pepsi
• Aquafina
• Diet Mountain Dew
• Tropicana Pure Premium
• Sierra Mist
• Mug brands

Citigroup has a Buy rating to go with a $170 price target.

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