Broadcom Just Raised Its Dividend—But It’s Not the Only One Signaling Strength

Key Points

• Abbott Laboratories raised its dividend for the 54th consecutive year, reinforcing its Dividend King status.
• Nordic American Tankers increased its dividend by 30%, benefiting from supply constraints in the aging tanker fleet.
• Broadcom boosted its dividend by 10%, supported by a $73 billion AI semiconductor backlog and the highest yield among mega-cap chip stocks.

Dividend growth is quietly accelerating across key sectors, offering investors rare chances to lock in strong yields at a time when market volatility is shaking up portfolios. From healthcare and oil tankers to AI-fueled semiconductors, companies are not just paying dividends; they are raising them at double-digit rates.

Among this group, three names stand out—one a Dividend King, another yielding over 10%, and one backed by a $73 billion AI backlog—signaling long-term confidence in cash flow and shareholder return.

1. Abbott: Increases Dividend for 54th Consecutive Year

With a market capitalization of just under $220 billion, healthcare giant Abbott Laboratories NYSE: ABT is the world’s most valuable stock in the healthcare equipment and supplies industry.

The Dividend King has put up a solid performance in 2025, delivering a total return of approximately 13%.

The company recorded revenue growth of just under 7% last quarter, a nice acceleration over 5% growth in the same period last year.

Additionally, the company’s adjusted operating margin has increased by 40 basis points to 23%.

On Dec. 12, Abbott announced a 6.8% increase to its quarterly dividend, bringing the payout to 63 cents per share. This marks 54 consecutive years that the company has increased its dividend.

Overall, the stock now holds a solid indicated dividend yield of 2%. The indicated dividend yield annualizes the stock's latest quarterly dividend to provide an estimate of its yield over the next year.

2. Nordic American Tankers: Ups Dividend 30% Amid Fleet Supply Shortage

Nordic American Tankers NYSE: NAT has performed remarkably well in 2025, delivering a total return of approximately 51%. This comes despite revenue having dropped significantly.

However, investors are pushing shares up based on some interesting dynamics that benefit NAT long-term, including the fact that tankers around the world are aging. As tankers approach and eclipse 20 years old, customers are significantly less likely to hire them, limiting effective supply.

Nordic American Tankers notes that before the end of 2027, 164 Suezmax tankers will become 20 years old. Meanwhile, the company expects that only 95 new tankers will replace them.

This puts significant pressure on effective supply, making existing younger ships more valuable. Notably, the majority of NAT’s ships are substantially less than 20 years old.

On Nov. 28, the company declared a 13-cent per share quarterly dividend, marking a 30% increase over the company’s previous payout of 10 cents.

NAT’s dividend shifts on a quarterly basis, making it difficult to forecast its yield going forward. However, the stock’s yield over the last 12 months is approximately 10.7%.

3. Broadcom: Raises Dividend 10% Backed by Massive AI Backlog

Shares of semiconductor giant Broadcom NASDAQ: AVGO are up by more than 48% this year, even though the stock has taken a turn for the worse in recent weeks.

Despite the market’s reaction to the company’s latest earnings report, Broadcom’s artificial intelligence (AI) business is on fire.

The company’s AI semiconductor backlog sits at $73 billion, which it expects to turn into revenue over the next 18 months. That figure is more than 3x higher than the $20 billion in AI semiconductor revenue the company generated in all of its fiscal year 2025.

With its business operating strongly, Broadcom announced a substantial dividend increase. The company’s quarterly payout will increase by 10% to 65 cents per share. The new dividend gives the stock an indicated yield of just under 0.8%.

While this figure is not high, it is significant compared to other massive technology companies. In fact, Broadcom’s yield is higher than almost every Magnificent Seven stock. Its yield is approximately equal to Microsoft’s NASDAQ: MSFT, the highest-yielding Mag 7 name.

Broadcom Stands Out for Yield and Upside Potential

Overall, these three stocks are clearly making moves to return more capital to shareholders. But among this group, Broadcom stands out.

The stock’s recent fall could provide a substantial opportunity to investors on multiple fronts. First is the ability to gain exposure to a world-class technology and semiconductor firm with serious AI momentum. Notably, after the stock’s decline, analysts see big-time upside potential. The MarketBeat consensus price target implies 28% upside in shares, with recent targets being even higher.

Additionally, investors can lock in a meaningful dividend yield on Broadcom, something that can be particularly hard to find among big-name semiconductor stocks. Among all mega-cap U.S. chip stocks, Broadcom’s yield is currently the highest.