Dividends don’t have to be boring. These companies are fantastic buy-and-hold candidates for younger investors.
Investing in dividend stocks isn’t just for retirees or those in the latter stages of their working years.
Young investors can achieve significant returns with dividend stocks, particularly when they reinvest their dividends. Young investors can give compounding many more years to work its magic.
That means dividend stocks have more time to grow, pay more dividends, and for those dividends to snowball into a passive income machine that could someday even pay all of their living expenses.
But which dividend stocks should young investors go for? Here are five remarkable companies to consider buying and holding for the next 25 years. Their strong business models and long-term growth prospects make them excellent candidates for a buy-and-hold investor.
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1. Alphabet
It’s hard to ponder the future of technology without mentioning Alphabet (GOOGL -0.16%) (GOOG -0.04%). Google’s parent company is known for its namesake search engine. Still, it has also become a leading player in artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, and autonomous vehicles, all while its legacy businesses, such as Google and YouTube, continue to grow.
Alphabet initiated a dividend just last year, so there is plenty of room for management to expand the dividend payout ratio, which is currently 8% of 2025 earnings estimates. Sometimes, investing is about gazing into the future, seeing where the metaphorical hockey puck is going next. Alphabet’s technological prowess makes it a prime candidate for prolific dividend growth over the next few decades.
2. Apple
Young investors have grown up with iPhones, so Apple (AAPL 0.28%) is very close to home for most. The company’s iOS ecosystem, comprising iPhones and other Apple devices, combined with a range of software and subscription services for its users, has made Apple one of the world’s most iconic brands and a highly profitable business. With over 2.3 billion active iOS devices worldwide, Apple products are a way of life for many people.
Apple’s size and profitability result in eye-popping financials, generating roughly $100 billion in free cash flow each of the past few years.The company allocates a significant portion of that money to stock buybacks and dividends. The company raised its dividend for 12 consecutive years, and it seems unlikely that this streak will end while Apple’s products remain so beloved by so many people.
3. Walmart
Consumer spending is the core engine of the U.S. economy. Walmart (WMT 0.45%) is a big part of that. The company has grown for decades to become one of the world’s largest retailers. Today, roughly 90% of the U.S. population lives within 10 miles of a store, and Walmart evolved into a global enterprise, operating in 19 countries. Walmart also leveraged its massive footprint to embrace e-commerce as a growth opportunity.
Many people visit their local Walmart for groceries, clothes, and other essentials, making the company and its stock a durable performer that managed to thrive through multiple economic cycles. Walmart already paid and raised its dividend for 51 consecutive years. Yet, the dividend is 36% of Walmart’s estimated 2025 earnings. Look for that dividend to continue growing for years to come.
4. Visa
Trillions of dollars are constantly flowing between people, merchants, and financial institutions. Visa (V 1.12%) operates one of the world’s leading payment networks, which connects all these parties so that money can flow quickly and securely whenever someone swipes their Visa-branded debit or credit card to make a payment. You can think of Visa as a toll, collecting a small fee from each transaction that passes through its network.
Visa thrived for years as one of a small handful of companies that dominate this industry. That success enabled Visa to pay and raise its dividend every year since the company went public, a streak currently at 16 years and counting. That probably won’t end any time soon, especially if Visa leverages its network to capitalize on emerging technologies, such as stablecoins.
5. Microsoft
Technology juggernaut Microsoft (MSFT 0.26%) consistently evolved to sustain its success. The company struck it big with its Windows operating system software in the early 1990s, but also managed to lead or compete in numerous technology sub-markets, including cloud computing, enterprise software, video gaming, and AI, among others. Unsurprisingly, the company is enormous, with a market cap exceeding $3.8 trillion.
Microsoft raised its dividend for 23 consecutive years and is one of just two companies with a sterling AAA credit rating. Its size may mean that it isn’t the millionaire-maker it once was. Yet, that shouldn’t deter young dividend investors looking for a steady foundation piece for their portfolios that remains very relevant in today’s world.
Justin Pope has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Apple, Microsoft, Visa, and Walmart. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.