Three Major Dividend Stocks Increase Payouts—Here’s Who’s at the Forefront in 2026
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Feb 23 2026
0mins
Source: Marketbeat
Dividend Increases: Major companies are raising their dividend payouts, reflecting a shift in market expectations and a focus on providing reliable cash returns to investors.
NextEra Energy's Performance: NextEra Energy, a leading utility company, has shown strong financial performance with significant revenue growth and plans for continued dividend increases, targeting an annual growth rate of 6% from 2026 to 2028.
Prologis Dividend Boost: Prologis, a major player in the real estate investment trust sector, has increased its annualized dividend by 6%, indicating strong operational income and a commitment to returning capital to shareholders.
QSR's Consistent Growth: Restaurant Brands International (QSR) has raised its dividend for 14 consecutive years, showcasing its stability and commitment to shareholder returns, despite facing challenges in sales growth.
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Analyst Views on NEE
Wall Street analysts forecast NEE stock price to rise
16 Analyst Rating
12 Buy
4 Hold
0 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 92.010
Low
84.00
Averages
92.50
High
100.00
Current: 92.010
Low
84.00
Averages
92.50
High
100.00
About NEE
NextEra Energy, Inc. is an electric power and energy infrastructure company. It operates through its wholly owned subsidiaries, NextEra Energy Resources, LLC and NextEra Energy Transmission, LLC (collectively, NEER) and Florida Power & Light Company (FPL). Its segments include NEER and FPL. FPL segment is a rate-regulated electric utility engaged in the generation, transmission, distribution and sale of electric energy in Florida. FPL has approximately 35,052 megawatts of net generating capacity, over 91,000 circuit miles of transmission and distribution lines and 921 substations. The NEER segment owns, develops, constructs, manages and operates electric generation facilities in wholesale energy markets in the United States and Canada and includes assets and investments in other businesses with a clean energy focus, such as battery storage, natural gas pipelines, and renewable fuels. It owns, develops, constructs and operates rate-regulated transmission facilities in North America.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
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- Frequent Negotiations: Sources indicate that both parties will be communicating frequently this week, although no specific meeting times have been set, suggesting that the reform process is gaining momentum with committee staff actively negotiating.
- Increased Political Pressure: With energy prices soaring, lawmakers are under significant political pressure to reach a permitting reform agreement this year to lower energy costs and meet the rising demand for energy, particularly from power-hungry data centers.
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- Lagging Technology Updates: The current Abilene site is expected to utilize Nvidia's Blackwell processors, which are projected to come online next year, while OpenAI aims to access more powerful next-generation chips elsewhere, potentially affecting its product competitiveness.
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Trade Smith Health Indicator: The Trade Smith Health Indicator categorizes stocks into Green, Yellow, or Red zones based on financial health and trends, showing that stocks in the Green zone have historically provided higher returns compared to those in the Red zone.
Exxon Mobil Performance: Exxon Mobil has shown significant growth, outperforming the S&P 500 with a year-to-date gain of nearly 26%, and is expected to continue growing earnings per share significantly in the coming year.
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- Importance of Dividend Growth: Dividend investors often focus too much on yield while neglecting dividend growth, which poses a risk for retirement income; thus, incorporating dividend growth into selection criteria can enhance investment returns.
- NextEra Energy's Performance: NextEra Energy has increased its dividend for over 25 years, with a current yield of approximately 2.7%, significantly above the market's 1.1%, and an average growth rate of 11% over the past decade, effectively countering the historical inflation rate of about 3.8%.
- Brookfield's Focus: Brookfield Renewable is dedicated to clean and renewable energy, with a steady annual dividend growth rate of 5% over the past decade, slightly exceeding inflation, indicating its stable income growth potential.
- Investment Opportunity Analysis: For investors seeking a mix of yield and dividend growth, NextEra Energy is better suited for those focused on growth, while Brookfield Renewable appeals to income-focused investors, with a $2,000 investment allowing for approximately 20 shares of NextEra or 60 units of Brookfield.
See More
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- Clean Energy Strategy: As one of the largest solar and wind power companies globally, NextEra Energy is well-positioned to benefit from the ongoing shift towards cleaner energy alternatives, which should support continued dividend growth in the coming years and solidify its market position.
- Brookfield's Income Advantage: Brookfield Renewable focuses entirely on clean and renewable energy, with a steady income increase of 5% annually over the past decade, slightly above inflation, and offers a 5% yield for Brookfield Renewable Partners and 3.8% for Brookfield Renewable Corporation, providing significant income opportunities for individual investors.
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