Key Points
- Lam Research raised its quarterly dividend by 27% to 33 cents per share, backed by accelerating AI-driven revenue growth and a low 18% payout ratio.
- Altria Group increased its payout by 4.7%, pushing its forward dividend yield to 6.3%, though its payout ratio remains high at roughly 89%.
- Intuit boosted its quarterly dividend by 15% to $1.38 despite a 40% stock decline in 2026 tied to weakening TurboTax market share.
- Special Report: Elon Musk’s Hushed FCC Filing. Sept 25th.
Dividend investors have many factors to consider when deciding which stocks suit their needs. This includes dividend growth rates, dividend yields, and dividend sustainability—often calculated based on a firm’s payout ratio.
Three firms that recently raised their dividends provide different options in this evaluation. Across key industries like semiconductors, tobacco, and software, they span the gamut of high dividend growth, high yields, and dividend sustainability.
Lam Research Lifts Dividend Over 25% as Growth Accelerates
When it comes to stocks that have been growing their revenues and dividends at a breakneck clip recently, AI-linked names are top of mind. Exemplifying this is semiconductor manufacturing equipment maker Lam Research (NASDAQ: LRCX). In its latest quarter, Lam grew sales by 30% year-over-year (YOY), but the company’s outlook is even more impressive.
The company’s midpoint revenue guidance of $8.1 billion next quarter implies YOY growth of approximately 52%. Achieving this would mark Lam’s fastest growth rate since 2021 and its second fastest growth rate since 2017. This comes as the AI buildout is creating immense demand for the company’s etch and deposition machines, particularly within the hyper-growth memory market.
Amid its success, and with shares up more than 60% on the year, Lam just issued a huge 27% increase to its quarterly dividend. Its payment moves up to 33 cents per share, with its next dividend payable on Oct. 14 to shareholders of record as of the Sept. 23 close. Despite the increase, Lam’s forward yield remains small at only around 0.4%. However, the company still stands out, as most U.S. large-cap tech stocks do not pay a dividend at all. Furthermore, Lam has very strong dividend sustainability, with a payout ratio of just 18%.
Altria Issues Modest Dividend Increase, Boosting Hefty Yield
Altria Group (NYSE: MO) is one of the dominant players in an industry that could not be much more different from tech: tobacco. The longstanding nature of this space hasn’t prevented Altria from putting up impressive returns in 2026. The stock is up more than 20% on the year, handily beating out the S&P 500 Index’s return of about 11%.
This comes despite Altria taking an over 9% hit following its latest earnings report. The company beat revenue expectations, but fell short on earnings per share (EPS). Its EPS guidance also disappointed, as the company raised the forecast, but not as much as investors wanted. Nonetheless, Altria’s full-year midpoint adjusted EPS growth guidance is 4.5%, which would represent its second-highest rate in four years.
Although the company’s results underwhelmed, one thing that is difficult to gripe about is Altria’s very high dividend yield. After recently raising its payout by a moderate 4.7%, the stock’s forward yield sits at a whopping 6.3%. This gives the stock a top-10 yield among S&P 500 stocks, with its next dividend payable on Oct. 9 to shareholders of record as of the Sept. 15 close.
The only item related to Altria’s dividend that is somewhat concerning is its very high payout ratio near 89%. However, analysts expect this figure to move down into much more comfortable territory: approximately 75% based on this year’s estimates and 72.6% based on next year’s estimates.
Intuit Announces Solid Dividend Boost, Supporting Its Solid Yield
Last up is one of the world’s largest software companies, Intuit (NASDAQ: INTU). Unlike Lam and Altria, 2026 has not been kind to Intuit whatsoever. Shares are down more than 40% on the year, with the stock experiencing a massive 20% drop following its fiscal May earnings report.
This came even though the company beat expectations on sales and EPS. The culprit for the fall was the disappointing performance of its TurboTax DIY segment. The company admitted that it “lost on price” among tax filers with incomes of $50,000 or less. For the full year, the company said it expects its share of IRS e-files to fall by 1%. This ultimately raises concerns about TurboTax's ability to hold on to its tax-filing market share, especially amid fears that people could increasingly use AI to file their taxes.
Still, Intuit showed confidence by recently announcing a sizable 15% increase to its quarterly dividend. Its new $1.38 dividend is payable next on Oct. 16 to shareholders of record as of the Oct. 8 close. At nearly 1.6%, the company’s dividend provides a meaningful source of return, while its dividend sustainability is strong with a 29% payout ratio. While not high relative to many other industries, Intuit has a top-three yield among U.S. large-cap software stocks, as very few pay a dividend at all.
Watch Item: Fab Expansion Timeline Is Key to Lam’s Outlook
These stocks all offer something different in dividend income, from rapidly growing payouts to yields among the highest in the U.S. Among these names, Lam Research's trajectory is the most exciting. For Lam, one critical watch item will be how much additional manufacturing capacity chip makers actually bring online through the end of 2027. The company expects eight to 10 new fabs to come online over that period. The construction timelines of these facilities staying on schedule will influence how quickly Lam can sell them new equipment and generate growth.
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