Buyers searching for relative security are turning to constant dividend payers – and Wolfe Analysis has highlighted a couple of rising dividend aristocrats that will provide them some stability. Nervousness round synthetic intelligence and its means to upend enterprise fashions in an array of industries has weighed down the inventory market in 2026. The S & P 500 is up lower than 1% 12 months so far as software program giants equivalent to Microsoft and Salesforce have tumbled 17% and 25%, respectively, simply since New Years. In the meantime, the ProShares S & P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF (NOBL) , made up of firms like McDonald’s and PepsiCo which have all raised their dividends yearly for the previous quarter century, has superior greater than 9% 12 months so far. NOBL .SPX YTD mountain The S & P 500 versus the ProShares S & P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF (NOBL) in 2026 Investing in dividend aristocrats is a most popular defensive technique at Wolfe Analysis. The group “is usually a good place to ‘cover’ within the occasion of an financial slowdown or recessionary surroundings,” based on chief funding strategist Chris Senyek. “This cohort of shares has typically outperformed heading into and out of recession,” he stated in a Monday report. Wolfe and his crew went one step additional, figuring out what they known as rising dividend aristocrats – firms which have lifted their dividend for at the very least 15 years. Listed below are a couple of of the names that turned up: Verizon Communications final September raised its dividend for the nineteenth straight 12 months. The inventory, up 20% in 2026, has a present dividend yield of about 5.8%. Nearly all of analysts are hesitant on Verizon after this 12 months’s runup, with 16 of 27 ranking it a maintain, based on LSEG. Consensus worth targets see almost 3% upside from present ranges. However Daiwa Capital Markets is extra optimistic, upgrading Verizon to purchase earlier this month. Analyst Jonathan Kees highlighted the steady earnings, dividend and share worth that telecom suppliers like Verizon can provide shareholders. “In a interval of financial and market uncertainty, we see the telco trade’s regular enterprise, steady buyer base & predictable monetary efficiency as a welcome haven for anxious buyers,” he wrote in a Feb. 18 report. “We see Verizon as having one of the best risk-reward, justifying its improve,” the analyst stated, noting that of the three main U.S. telecom firms, Verizon is the one with the longest historical past of paying dividends and a “singular focus” on elevating its funds. Costco Wholesale additionally made Wolfe’s checklist. The corporate well-known for preserving its rotisserie rooster $4.99 for years has been simply as steadfast on dividends, elevating payouts over the previous 20 years. Costco final raised its common dividend in April , boosting the quarterly fee to $1.30 per share from $1.16. The warehouse membership additionally has a historical past of sometimes paying massive one-time dividends. Buyers have flocked to Costco amid this 12 months’s market upheaval: Shares are up 14% in 2026, and the inventory gives a present dividend yield of 0.5%. Earlier this month, JPMorgan pointed to the corporate as being a key beneficiary of tax season. “Demographically, COST is positioned to be the largest winner right into a stimulated client surroundings given geographic, member demographic, and blend variations,” stated analyst Christopher Horvers in a Feb. 6 report. Costco’s publicity to a better revenue buyer base permits it to “display screen one of the best within the membership sector to anticipated spring tax stimulus, particularly in mild of COST’s big-ticket gen merch assortment,” he stated. The inventory is nicely preferred on Wall Avenue, attracting purchase or robust purchase scores from 25 of 38 analysts. Consensus worth targets name for about 6% inventory upside over the subsequent 12 months. BlackRock , Hershey Co . and Waste Administration additionally made Wolfe’s checklist of rising dividend aristocrats. —CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed reporting.