It may be tempting to obsess over the hottest and newest stocks on the market. Yet, sometimes the best wealth-building strategies involve “legacy” (i.e., old) companies that proudly return capital to their shareholders.
Indeed, there’s a publicly traded business that’s been around longer than most of us have been alive, and it’s been identified as a dividend aristocrat. As we’ll discuss in a moment, that’s a specific designation which doesn’t apply to every dividend-paying firm.
After discovering this hidden gem, you’ll surely agree that “newer” isn’t always “better” in the universe of investable opportunities. You might even decide to take a position in a firm that’s established, growing financially, and supremely loyal to its stakeholders.
A “Forever Company” to Consider
On its “About Us” page as well as a news release page, Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) proudly displays a picture of a large sign in the company’s office. That sign says in all-caps, “A FOREVER COMPANY.”
It hasn’t exactly been around forever, but Brown & Brown is older than many other firms as it was founded back in 1939. Thus, the company has a history that exceeds 85 years, which is an achievement in and of itself.
I’m certainly not suggesting that anyone should buy shares of a business just because it has survived for 85 years. Still, given its staying power and its history of delivering dividends, Brown & Brown has earned the right to call itself a “forever” company.
Before delving into Brown & Brown’s dividend distributions and financial state, we should cover a few basic facts. First of all, Brown & Brown is an insurance broker with over 700 locations across 19 countries.
If you’re looking to invest in a hyper-modern, artificial intelligence (AI) obsessed insurance firm, Brown & Brown isn’t it. Instead, Brown & Brown considers itself a “big company that doesn’t act like one,” where “people are at the center of everything we do.”
So far, Brown & Brown is sounds like a business that a sensible long-term investor like Warren Buffett might be interested in. But let’s not “bury the lede,” as they say in the print media, as Brown & Brown stands out as a dividend payer with a remarkable track record.
Earning a Royal Dividend Title
Granted, dividends aren’t the be-all and end-all for investors. Share-price appreciation is of paramount importance, and as it turns out, the Brown & Brown share price has increased over the decades.
BRO stock is down at the moment, but that’s not necessarily a warning sign. Indeed, value investors may be pleased to know that Brown & Brown’s trailing 12-month price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is 16.01x, which is 41.62% below its five-year average.
Not only that, but if you “buy the dip” in Brown & Brown stock, the company will pay you some cash every quarter while you wait for the share price to rebound. Currently, Brown & Brown offers a forward annual dividend yield of 0.92%.
Furthermore, Brown & Brown is among the most reliable dividend payers out there — and it’s a dividend grower, as well. In 2022, Brown & Brown earned a spot on the list of S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats, which are S&P 500 members that have increased their dividend distributions for at least 25 consecutive years.
Sure, there are more than a few dividend aristocrats out there. However, not too many of them have existed and served the public for as long as Brown & Brown has.
Still Growing After All These Years
It’s noteworthy that Brown & Brown is a long-standing dividend grower that trades at a reasonable valuation multiple. We still need to address a crucial question, though: is Brown & Brown still in good financial condition in the 2020s?
Recent data points indicate that, despite the proliferation of AI-focused insurance brokers, Brown & Brown remains firmly in growth mode. To put you at ease, we’ll now investigate the company’s most recently released quarterly financial data report.
The numbers, as they say, speak for themselves. In the fourth quarter of 2025, Brown & Brown improved its revenue by 35.7% year over year to $1.6 billion. Also during that time frame, Brown & Brown increased its net income attributable to the company by 25.7% to $264 million.
Clearly, the slew of AI-infused insurance upstarts haven’t broken the financial back of Brown & Brown. The company is alive and well, and in light of Brown & Brown’s financial firmness, the BRO stock chart looks more like a buying opportunity than a falling knife.
Besides, even if you don’t buy Brown & Brown shares at the exact bottom of the price curve, you can still collect reliable dividend payouts each and every quarter. That’s not just a nice bonus; it’s a form of reassurance that Brown & Brown’s stakeholders have come to expect from an 85-year-old income-distribution king.
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