Core Insights - The article emphasizes the importance of dividends as a reliable source of passive income, highlighting two companies with strong dividend yields and established businesses [1] Company Summaries Altria Group - Altria is the largest tobacco company in the U.S., holding a 46.9% market share in cigarettes [2] - The company has increased its dividend for 55 consecutive years, earning the title of Dividend King, with a current quarterly dividend of $1.02 and a forward yield of approximately 8.1% [2][4] - Despite declining smoking rates, Altria has maintained pricing power to offset volume losses, with NJOY products showing significant growth, including a 14.7% increase in consumables shipment volume and an 80% increase in device shipments in the latest quarter [3] - In the first half of the year, Altria reported net earnings of over $5.9 billion and paid out $3.4 billion in dividends, indicating a sustainable payout ratio [4] AT&T - AT&T has experienced a stock price increase of over 26% this year, attributed to a refocus on its core telecom business after selling its 70% stake in DIRECTV [5] - The company cut its dividend by nearly half in early 2022, with the current quarterly dividend at $0.28 and a yield of around 5.1% [5] - AT&T has seen growth in both postpaid phone and Fiber subscribers, gaining 1.6 million postpaid phone subscribers and 1.1 million Fiber customers in the latest quarter, with ARPU increasing for both segments [6] - The company's payout ratio is just over 64%, and it reported free cash flow of $4.6 billion in the latest quarter, suggesting the ability to sustain its dividend [8]
Looking for Consistent Passive Income? These 2 High-Yield Dividend Stocks Are Great Options.