Is the dividend safe? A long streak alone doesn’t answer that. We rate 778 U.S. dividend stocks on 13 checks, from how well earnings and cash flow cover the payout to what the dividend did in the 2000, 2008, 2020 and 2022 crashes. These are the 50 that rate highest today.
Safe here means the payout looks well covered and has held up before. It says nothing about where the share price goes, and safe rarely means a big yield: 39 of the top 50 yield under 2%.
| # | Stock | Safety Rating | Yield | Price | Raise Streak | In Each Crash |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AAPLApple | UnlockDividend Safety Rating: paid plans only | 0.31%$0.27 quarterly | $347.96 | 12 years12+ years without a cut | 2000 No record2008 No record2020 Raised2022 Raised |
| 24 | LLYEli Lilly | UnlockDividend Safety Rating: paid plans only | 0.49%$1.73 quarterly | $1,420.30 | 11 years52+ years without a cut | 2000 Raised2008 Raised2020 Raised2022 Raised |
| 36 | MSFTMicrosoft | UnlockDividend Safety Rating: paid plans only | 0.74%$0.98 quarterly | $530.02 | 20 years22+ years without a cut | 2000 No record2008 Raised2020 Raised2022 Raised |
How Many Dividend Stocks Rate Very Safe
Of the 778 payers we rate today, 120 rate Very Safe and 288 more rate Safe. Here is the whole spread.
| Rating band | Range | Payers | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Very Safe | 90 to 100 | 120 | 15.4% |
| Safe | 70 to 89 | 288 | 37.0% |
| Fair | 55 to 69 | 230 | 29.6% |
| Risky | 41 to 54 | 59 | 7.6% |
| High Risk | 0 to 40 | 81 | 10.4% |
What it takes to rate Very Safe:
- No check can be red. One red check keeps a stock at 69 or lower, whatever the rest say.
- No cut in the last 5 years. A recent cut also holds the rating at 69 or lower.
- A record that goes back. A company that wasn’t paying before the 2008 crash tops out at 89, or 93 if it held or raised through 2020 and 2022 with 8+ years of payments.
- Nothing rates 100. The top of the scale for a company is 98.
The Safest Monthly Payer and the Safest 6%+ Yield
10 of the 778 payers we rate pay every month, and 35 yield 6% or more at the last close. 1 of those 35 rate Safe or better. These two rate highest in each group.
Yields 5.60% at the last close, paying $0.265 a share every month. Raise streak: 15 years. Without a cut: 17+ years.
2000 No record2008 No record2020 Held2022 RaisedYields 6.13% at the last close, paying $0.708 a share quarterly. Raise streak: 21 years. Without a cut: 41+ years.
2000 Held2008 Raised2020 Raised2022 RaisedWhat Makes a Dividend Safe
A dividend is safe when the company earns it with room to spare, can carry its debt through a bad year, and has a record of paying through bad years before. The Dividend Safety Rating checks each of those, 13 checks in all, and shows the number behind every one.
- Is it covered? How much of earnings the dividend takes, how much of free cash flow it takes, and whether cash flow covers the dividend and the debt payments together.
- Can it carry the debt? How much debt the company has, how easily its profits pay the interest, and how much cash it has on hand.
- Which way are profits going? Whether earnings are rising or falling.
- What does the record say? The raise streak, the years without a cut, whether the latest raise is in line with the company’s own trend, and where today’s yield sits against its own 5-year range.
- What happened in a crash? What the dividend did in each crash since 2000, and how the stock came through 2008.
A yield far above the stock’s usual range is often the market expecting a cut, so a very high yield counts against a stock here, never for it. That is why most of the top 50 pay less than the median payer we rate (2.18%): 2 of them yield 3% or more.
To check the stocks you already own, add them to a free portfolio. Every payout fills in from your buy date and DRIP shares are counted for you.
Questions About Safe Dividend Stocks
What are the safest dividend stocks?
On today’s Dividend Safety Rating, the 50 safest of the 778 U.S. payers we rate include Apple (AAPL), Eli Lilly (LLY) and Microsoft (MSFT), the three biggest companies on the list. 28 of the 50 raised their dividend in all 4 crashes since 2000. The full ranked list with each rating comes with any paid plan.
What makes a dividend safe?
Cover, debt and record. The dividend should take a comfortable share of earnings and free cash flow, the company should carry its debt easily, and the payout should have held up in past crashes. We rate each stock on 13 checks along those lines.
How many dividend stocks rate Very Safe?
120 of the 778 payers we rate score 90 or more today, the Very Safe band. Another 288 rate Safe (70 to 89).
Which monthly dividend stock is safest?
Of the payers we rate, Main Street Capital (MAIN) rates highest among the 10 that pay every month. It yields 5.60% at the last close.
Are high-yield dividend stocks safe?
Some are, most are not. Of the 35 payers we rate that yield 6% or more, 1 rate Safe or better. Verizon Communications (VZ) rates highest of them, yielding 6.13%.
How often are the ratings updated?
Each stock is rated again every day from its latest filings, payments and prices, and this page refreshes twice a day.
Does a safe rating mean the dividend can’t be cut?
No. The rating reads the company’s reported numbers and its record, and a company can still cut after a shock nobody saw coming. The Dividend Safety Rating is an algorithmic rating built from reported data, not a recommendation to buy, hold or sell.
