Procter & Gamble (PG): A Dividend King Built for Long-Term Income
Procter & Gamble (PG) isn’t the kind of stock investors buy for explosive growth. What it offers instead is something increasingly valuable: dependable income backed by a business that has proven remarkably durable across economic cycles.
P&G trades around $146 per share and currently yields roughly 3%. The company pays about $4.35 per share annually and has increased its dividend for around 70 consecutive years, easily qualifying it as a Dividend King.
Those increases haven’t been token raises, either. Over the past five years, P&G’s dividend has grown roughly 5% to 6% annually. Its payout ratio of approximately 64% to 66% also leaves the company retaining more than a third of its earnings to reinvest in the business.
That combination of current income and steady dividend growth is one of the biggest reasons we like the stock for 2027 and beyond.
The business supporting that dividend is about as defensive as they come. P&G owns brands including Tide, Pampers, Gillette, Crest, Dawn and Bounty across categories such as beauty, grooming, healthcare, fabric and home care, and baby and family care. Consumers may cut back on discretionary purchases during difficult economic periods, but toothpaste, detergent and other household necessities tend to remain on the shopping list.
The latest results show that the business continues to perform steadily. P&G reported core earnings of $1.59 per share and quarterly revenue of $21.2 billion, both slightly ahead of Wall Street expectations, with growth spread across categories and geographic regions.
Management is also returning a substantial amount of cash to shareholders. P&G plans to pay roughly $10 billion in dividends during fiscal 2026, in addition to ongoing share repurchases.
We’re not expecting P&G to deliver the kind of returns associated with a high-growth technology stock. That’s not the reason to own it. We see P&G as a core income holding that can provide stability, growing dividends and exposure to a collection of brands consumers use every day.
At around $146 per share, investors can lock in a yield of roughly 3% today. If P&G continues raising its payout at anything close to its recent 5% to 6% annual pace, that income can become considerably more valuable over a long holding period.
With roughly 70 consecutive years of dividend increases, a manageable payout ratio, $10 billion in planned fiscal 2026 dividends and a business built around everyday necessities, we think Procter & Gamble is one of the strongest dividend stocks to own heading into 2027 and for years beyond.
