S&P 500 companies that have paid and raised their dividends for 25 years or longer are the kind that growth and income investors want to buy and hold in stock portfolios forever. These stocks are mostly conservative, and should we see a dramatic market correction, they will likely keep their ground much better than volatile technology names.

Investors looking for defensive companies paying big dividends are drawn to the Dividend Aristocrats, and with good reason. The 66 companies that made the cut for the 2025 S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats list have increased dividends (not just remained the same) for at least 25 years straight. But the requirements go even further, with the following attributes also mandatory for membership on the aristocrats list:

• Companies must be worth at least a minimum of $3 billion for each quarterly rebalancing.
• Average daily volume of at least $5 million transactions for every trailing three-month period at every quarterly rebalancing date.
• They must be a member of the S&P 500.

We screened the 2025 Dividend Aristocrats, looking for the highest-yielding stocks in the venerable index, and came up with a group of companies that all make sense for 2025. All reside in sectors poised to benefit from a shifting economy.

Franklin Resources

This company is a mutual fund powerhouse that pays a safe and secure 6.72% dividend. Franklin Resources Inc. (NYSE: BEN) is among the most prominent global money managers. The firm markets mutual funds and institutional separate accounts under the Franklin, Templeton, and Mutual Series brands. At times, 50% of its sales are from outside the US, an advantage given the maturing US market.

Franklin Resources offers its products and services under the brands of:

• Franklin
• Templeton
• Franklin Mutual Series
• Franklin Bissett
• Fiduciary Trust
• Darby
• Balanced Equity Management
• K2
• LibertyShares
• Edinburgh Partners

The 2023-2024 bull market has proven to be a strong tailwind for the company. While withdrawals from baby boomers may be a concern, the path forward in 2025 also looks solid.

Realty Income

This is an ideal stock for growth and income investors looking for a safer contrarian idea for the rest of 2024 that pays a whopping 6.11% dividend. Realty Income Corp. (NYSE: O) is an S&P 500 company that provides stockholders with dependable monthly income.

The company is structured as a REIT, and its monthly dividends are supported by the cash flow from over 15,540 real estate properties (including properties acquired in the Spirit merger in January 2024) owned under long-term lease agreements with commercial tenants.

Realty Income has declared 649 consecutive common stock monthly dividends throughout its 55-year operating history and increased the dividend 123 times since Realty Income’s public listing in 1994. For increasing the dividend for the last 29 consecutive years, it is a top real estate member of the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats index.

Amcor

This top company makes sense now as it produces always-needed products and pays a robust 5.41% dividend. Amcor PLC (NYSE: AMCR) manufactures and sells packaging products in Europe, North America, Latin America, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates through two segments.

The Flexibles segment provides flexible and film packaging products in food and beverage, medical and pharmaceutical, fresh produce, snack food, personal care, and other industries.

The Rigid Packaging segment offers rigid containers for a range of beverage and food products, including:

• Carbonated soft drinks
• Water
• Juices
• Sports drinks
• Milk-based beverages
• Spirits
• Beer
• Sauces
• Dressings
• Spreads
• Personal care items
• Plastic caps for various applications.

The company sells its products primarily through its direct sales force.

J.M. Smucker

This well-known company makes products that never go out of style and pays a sweet 4.25% dividend. J.M. Smucker Co. (NYSE: SJM) is engaged in the manufacturing and marketing of branded food and beverage products worldwide. The company’s branded food and beverage products include a portfolio of brands sold to consumers primarily through retail outlets in North America.

The company operates through four segments:

• U.S. Retail Coffee
• U.S. Retail Frozen Handheld and Spreads
• U.S. Retail Pet Foods
• Sweet Baked Snacks

The U.S. Retail Coffee segment primarily includes the domestic sales of Folgers, Dunkin’, and Cafe Bustelo branded coffee.

The U.S. Retail Frozen Handheld and Spreads segment primarily includes the domestic sales of Smucker’s and Jif branded products.

The U.S. Retail Pet Foods segment primarily includes the domestic sales of Meow Mix, Milk-Bone, Pup-Peroni, and Canine Carry Outs branded products.

The Sweet Baked Snacks segment primarily includes all domestic and foreign sales of Hostess branded products on all channels.

Chevron

This integrated giant is a safer way for investors looking to position themselves in the energy sector. It pays a rich 4.18% dividend. Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) engages in integrated energy and chemicals operations worldwide through its subsidiaries. It operates in two segments.

The Upstream segment is involved in:

• Exploration, development, production, and transportation of crude oil and natural gas
• Processing, liquefaction, transportation, and regasification associated with liquefied natural gas
• Transportation of crude oil through pipelines
• Transportation, storage, and marketing of natural gas, as well as operating a gas-to-liquids plant

The Downstream segment engages in:

• Refining crude oil into petroleum product
• Marketing crude oil, refined products, and lubricants
• Manufacturing and marketing renewable fuels
• Transporting crude oil and advanced products by pipeline, marine vessel, motor equipment, and rail car
• Manufacturing and marketing of commodity petrochemicals, plastics for industrial uses, and fuel and lubricant additives

Chevron announced in 2023 that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Hess Corp. (NYSE: HES) to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Hess in an all-stock transaction valued at $53 billion, or $171 per share based on Chevron’s closing price on October 20, 2023. Under the terms of the agreement, Hess shareholders will receive 1.0250 shares of Chevron for each Hess share. The transaction’s total enterprise value, including debt, is $60 billion. The Federal Trade Commission approved the deal last fall, and it should be completed by the summer. The merger is still subject to closing conditions, including resolving an arbitration battle with Exxon Mobil Inc. (NYSE: XOM) and China’s CNOOC over assets in Guyana.

Four Ultra-High-Yield Stocks Will Pay a Landslide of Monthly Dividends

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