☕️ Sunday Coffee: The Century Dividend Club

The average lifespan of a public company is shrinking. According to McKinsey, companies in the S&P 500 once remained in the index for around 60 years on average. Today, that figure has fallen to less than 20 years as technological disruption, changing consumer preferences, mergers, and economic cycles reshape the corporate landscape.

To answer that question, I turned to the MaxDividends Research Platform. The results were surprisingly exclusive. Today, only a handful of publicly traded companies can claim a continuous dividend record spanning more than 100 years. These businesses have survived world wars, the Great Depression, multiple financial crises, pandemics, and countless market crashes—while continuing to reward shareholders year after year.

Here are the companies that made the list.

Meet the companies that have rewarded shareholders every year for more than a century.

Sector: Healthcare
Dividends Paid Since: 1924 (102 years)
10-Year Dividend CAGR: 9.41%

What They Do: Abbott develops medical devices, diagnostic systems, nutritional products and medicines. Its best-known products include FreeStyle Libre glucose monitors, Ensure and Similac.

Interesting Fact: Abbott began in 1888 in the back room of a Chicago pharmacy. Dr. Wallace Abbott produced tiny medicinal granules that allowed doctors to prescribe more precise doses than was common at the time.

Sector: Consumer Staples
Dividends Paid Since: 1902 (124 years)
10-Year Dividend CAGR: 6.18%

What They Do: ADM buys and processes crops such as corn, wheat, soybeans and oilseeds. It turns them into food ingredients, animal feed, vegetable oils, sweeteners and biofuels.

Interesting Fact: The company started in 1902 as a small linseed-crushing business founded by George Archer and John Daniels. During its first full fiscal year, the young business reportedly earned an additional $72,000 after posting a profit in its first six months.

Sector: Consumer Staples
Dividends Paid Since: 1895 (131 years)
10-Year Dividend CAGR: 3.22%

What They Do: Colgate-Palmolive makes toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap, deodorants, cleaning products and pet food. Its major brands include Colgate, Palmolive, Softsoap and Hill’s Pet Nutrition.

Interesting Fact: The business began in 1806, when William Colgate opened a soap and candle shop in New York City. Colgate did not introduce toothpaste in a collapsible tube until 1896; before that, toothpaste was commonly sold in jars.

Sector: Utilities
Dividends Paid Since: 1885 (141 years)
10-Year Dividend CAGR: 2.72%

What They Do: Con Edison delivers electricity, natural gas and steam to customers in New York City and surrounding areas. Its infrastructure helps power one of the largest and most densely populated urban regions in the United States.

Interesting Fact: The company’s roots are closely connected to Thomas Edison’s Pearl Street generating station, which began supplying electricity to customers in Lower Manhattan in 1882. It was one of the world’s first central power stations.

Sector: Consumer Staples
Dividends Paid Since: 1920 (106 years)
10-Year Dividend CAGR: 4.45%

What They Do: Coca-Cola owns and markets soft drinks, water, juice, sports drinks, tea, coffee and energy beverages. Its portfolio includes Coca-Cola, Sprite, Fanta, Powerade, Minute Maid and Costa Coffee.

Interesting Fact: During World War II, company president Robert Woodruff promised that every American in uniform could buy a bottle of Coca-Cola for five cents, wherever the soldier was stationed and regardless of the cost to the company. Coca-Cola ultimately established 64 bottling plants near troops overseas.

Sector: Consumer Staples
Dividends Paid Since: 1925 (101 years)
10-Year Dividend CAGR: 8.42%

What They Do: McCormick produces spices, herbs, seasoning mixes, sauces, condiments and flavoring ingredients. It sells products to households, restaurants and large food manufacturers around the world.

Interesting Fact: Founder Willoughby McCormick initially sold flavoring extracts and fruit syrups door to door in Baltimore. The company later grew into the world’s largest herbs-and-spices brand and now operates across roughly 150 countries and territories.

Sector: Utilities
Dividends Paid Since: 1912 (114 years)
10-Year Dividend CAGR: 5.92%

What They Do: Middlesex Water provides drinking water and wastewater services, primarily in New Jersey and Delaware. It also operates water systems for municipalities and private clients.

Interesting Fact: Middlesex Water was incorporated in 1897, when many American water systems still relied on infrastructure that would look primitive today. The company has since grown to provide essential services to more than half a million people.

Sector: Energy
Dividends Paid Since: 1902 (124 years)
10-Year Dividend CAGR: 3.05%

What They Do: National Fuel Gas operates across the natural-gas supply chain. Its businesses produce gas, transport it through pipelines, store it and deliver it to homes and businesses.

Interesting Fact: The company’s predecessor businesses date back to the early days of the American natural-gas industry. National Fuel says that they helped pioneer several industry practices beginning in the 1800s, long before natural gas became a standard household energy source.

Sector: Consumer Staples
Dividends Paid Since: 1891 (135 years)
10-Year Dividend CAGR: 4.73%

What They Do: Procter & Gamble makes everyday household and personal-care products. Its brands include Tide, Pampers, Gillette, Oral-B, Head & Shoulders, Always and Ariel.

Interesting Fact: William Procter and James Gamble were brothers-in-law who separately made candles and soap. During the financial panic of 1837, their father-in-law persuaded them to combine their businesses, creating Procter & Gamble.

Sector: Basic Materials
Dividends Paid Since: 1899 (127 years)
10-Year Dividend CAGR: 6.99%

What They Do: PPG makes paints, coatings and specialized materials used in homes, cars, aircraft, factories, packaging and construction. Its products protect surfaces while also giving them color and a finished appearance.

Interesting Fact: PPG was founded in 1883 as the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company. Although it is now primarily known for paints and coatings, the business originally specialized in large sheets of glass and became one of the first American companies in its field to expand manufacturing into Europe.

Sector: Basic Materials
Dividends Paid Since: 1885 (141 years)
10-Year Dividend CAGR: 13.47%

What They Do: Sherwin-Williams manufactures and sells paints, stains, coatings and related products. It serves homeowners, professional painters and industrial customers through its own stores and numerous product brands.

Interesting Fact: Sherwin-Williams was founded in Cleveland in 1866. Its coatings were later used on some of the world’s earliest automobiles, appliances and skyscrapers, and the company developed one of the first vinyl protective coatings for beer cans in 1935.

Sector: Industrials
Dividends Paid Since: 1877 (149 years)
10-Year Dividend CAGR: 4.43%

What They Do: Stanley Black & Decker makes hand tools, power tools, outdoor equipment and products for professional construction. Its brands include Stanley, DeWalt, Craftsman and Black+Decker.

Interesting Fact: Black & Decker invented the first portable electric drill with the now-familiar pistol grip and trigger switch. The basic design became a model not only for modern drills but for generations of handheld power tools.

Sector: Utilities
Dividends Paid Since: 1816 (210 years)
10-Year Dividend CAGR: 3.90%

What They Do: York Water supplies drinking water and wastewater services to communities in Pennsylvania. It is the oldest investor-owned water utility in the United States.

Interesting Fact: When York Water began operating, some of its water mains were made from hollowed-out wooden logs. The company has continued through wars, economic crises and pandemics without missing a dividend payment since 1816.

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Of course, this list isn’t the whole story.

Several other companies could arguably be considered century-long dividend titans as well. Over the decades, some changed their names, merged with competitors, spun off businesses, or were acquired while preserving their dividend legacy. Tracing those corporate family trees is a fascinating topic in its own right—and perhaps one we’ll explore in a future Sunday Coffee.

Now I’m curious: do you own shares of any of the companies on this list? And what percentage of your portfolio is made up of these dividend titans?

Enjoy your Sunday coffee ☕

With respect for your well-being, Max