5 Dividend Kings to Buy and Hold Forever in August
Fifty-plus years of unbroken dividend raises sounds like a floor, but not every Dividend King deserves a permanent seat in your portfolio right now. Five do, and one of them is actually trading at a discount that long-term income investors…
Dividend Kings, companies with at least 50 consecutive years of dividend increases, remain the backbone of any buy-and-hold income portfolio. August is a natural checkpoint: many of these names have just refreshed guidance, declared summer payouts, and given investors a fresh read on how they are navigating tariffs, currency swings, and shifting consumer behavior. Below are five US-listed Dividend Kings worth building a long-term position around this month, each with a verified multi-decade payout streak, a recent earnings data point, a bull case, and one risk to keep on the radar.
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ | JNJ Price Prediction) is the anchor of any Dividend Kings shortlist. The board approved a 3.1% dividend hike to $1.34 per quarter, extending what the company describes as 64 consecutive years of dividend growth. Q1 2026 revenue landed at $24.06B, up 9.9% year over year, with adjusted EPS of $2.70 beating the $2.68 consensus, driven by DARZALEX at $3.96B (+22.5%) and TREMFYA up 68.3%.
The bull case is accelerating Innovative Medicine growth plus a lifted FY2026 outlook of $100.3B to $101.3B in revenue and adjusted EPS of $11.45 to $11.65. Shares are up 27.45% year to date to $260.86, with an analyst target of $272.50. Risk: STELARA biosimilar erosion, with the drug down 59.7% to $656M, and ongoing litigation charges ($330M in Q1).
Procter & Gamble (PG)
Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) is the definition of durability. The Q2 2026 dividend was raised to $1.0885 per share, marking the 70th consecutive year of dividend increases and 136th straight year of dividend payments. Q4 FY2026 revenue came in at $21.20B (+1.5% YoY), missing the $21.38B estimate, but core EPS of $1.43 beat the $1.41 consensus.
The bull case rests on capital returns: management guided to roughly $10B in dividends and $5B in buybacks in FY2027, alongside FY27 core EPS of $6.89 to $7.11. At $144.08, shares yield 2.91%. Risk: a roughly $1B after-tax commodity, energy, and transport headwind flagged for FY2027, which management said would drag core EPS growth by around 8%. CEO Shailesh Jejurikar called FY26 "a year of foundation building while continuing to grow sales and profit and return high levels of cash to shareowners."
Coca-Cola (KO)
Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) is having a standout year. Q2 2026 revenue rose to $13.38B (+6.7% YoY), ahead of the $13.17B estimate, with adjusted EPS of $0.97 topping $0.93. Global unit case volume rose 5%, and Coca-Cola Zero Sugar grew 16%. The quarterly dividend has climbed to $0.53, continuing an unbroken increase streak visible from at least 1999 forward that anchors its 60-plus-year King status.
Management raised the FY2026 outlook to roughly 5% organic revenue growth, 9% to 10% comparable EPS growth, and free cash flow near $12.4B. Shares are up 25.7% YTD to $86.71. Risk: currency and tariff exposure, a pending African bottling divestiture, and ongoing IRS tax litigation.
Colgate-Palmolive (CL)
Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) delivered Q2 2026 revenue of $5.36B (+4.9% YoY) with Base Business EPS of $0.99, beating the $0.95 estimate. Gross margin expanded 140 basis points to 61.5%, and advertising spend jumped 15% to $777M, an important tell on brand investment. The quarterly dividend now sits at $0.53, backing a 60-plus-year King streak.
The bull case: pricing power in oral care, expanding margins, and raised FY2026 Base Business EPS growth guidance to mid-single-digit. Shares are up 18.98% YTD to $92.32, with an analyst target of $98.95. Risk: North America organic sales fell 3.0% with volume down 3.9%, and $129M in Strategic Growth and Productivity Program charges point to ongoing restructuring costs.
Lowe’s (LOW)
Lowe’s (NYSE:LOW) is the contrarian pick in this group. Q1 FY2027 revenue rose to $23.08B (+10.3% YoY), with adjusted EPS of $3.03 just missing the $3.06 estimate. Still, comparable sales grew 0.6%, the fourth consecutive quarter of positive comps, and online sales rose 15.5%. The board recently pushed the quarterly dividend to $1.25 per share, extending its 60-plus-year King streak.
Shares are down 9.06% YTD to $215.97, which is precisely the setup long-term buyers look for: a King on sale trading at a forward P/E of 17, with an analyst target of $262.88. CEO Marvin Ellison pointed to "Strong spring execution and continued momentum in Pro, Appliances, Online, and Home Services". Risk: the housing macro remains challenging, gross margin compressed 70 basis points, and interest expense from the FBM and Artisan Design Group acquisitions adds leverage.
The Takeaway
These five names cover healthcare, consumer staples, beverages, personal care, and home improvement. Different cycles, same discipline: decades of raises, cash returns north of shareholder expectations, and management teams that treat the dividend as a promise. Keep an eye on the stock reactions into the next round of earnings, particularly Lowe’s Q2 earnings report, where the housing cycle debate will matter most for the group’s laggard.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
Joel South covers large-cap stocks, dividend investing, and major market trends, with a focus on earnings analysis, valuation, and turning complex data into actionable insights for investors.
He brings more than 15 years of experience as an investor and financial journalist, including 12 years at The Motley Fool, where he served as an investment analyst, Bureau Chief, and later led the Fool.com investing news desk. He has also co-hosted an investing podcast and appeared across TV and radio discussing market trends.
