Most "best dividend stocks" articles are constructed by sorting the S&P 500 by yield and writing about the top 20 names. The result is a list of dividend traps - high yield exactly because the underlying business is suspect and the dividend is at risk of being cut.
This post is built differently. We took the entire 21,000-stock universe and applied two filters simultaneously:
- Dividend Safety Score = A. This is invest-like's published 4-letter dividend safety rating (A / B / C / D) based on payout ratio, FCF coverage, debt-to-EBITDA, dividend growth streak, and historical cut history. The methodology is at /blog/dividend-safety-score-explained/.
- 7-framework consensus ≥ 5 of 7 Strong Fit. The stock must pass at least 5 of the 7 value-investing frameworks (Buffett, Graham, Fisher, Lynch, Greenblatt, Munger, Smith).
Combining the two filters, ten stocks currently pass both as of May 2026. The list is automatically regenerated as fundamentals refresh - bookmark this URL to see the current cohort.
The 10 dividend stocks that pass both filters
1. Visa (V) - yield 0.8%, frameworks 7-of-7
Yes, the yield is low - but Visa's dividend has grown ~20% annually for the last decade, and the payout ratio sits below 20% leaving enormous room for continued growth. The A-grade dividend safety reflects the extreme FCF cushion.
For pure-yield hunters Visa won't be exciting. For total-return investors thinking 10-year compounding, Visa's combination of safety and growth puts it near the top of the dividend universe.
Live: /buffett/v/.
2. Mastercard (MA) - yield 0.7%, frameworks 7-of-7
Same thesis as Visa. The other half of the payment-network duopoly. Slightly lower yield, slightly higher growth rate, same A-grade safety.
3. Microsoft (MSFT) - yield 0.7%, frameworks 7-of-7
Buffett's framework calls Microsoft borderline-rich; the dividend-growth track record is impeccable, and the FCF coverage is extreme. The dividend safety holds even if AI capex margins compress because the underlying SaaS business funds the dividend many times over.
4. Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) - yield 3.1%, frameworks 5-of-7
The classic dividend aristocrat. 60+ years of consecutive dividend increases. JNJ fails Lynch (mature growth) and Fisher (gross margin too low for Fisher's threshold), but passes Buffett, Graham, Greenblatt, Munger, and Smith.
Higher yield than the payment networks, more mature growth profile, equally clean A-grade safety.
Live: /buffett/jnj/.
5. American Express (AXP) - yield 1.2%, frameworks 7-of-7
Buffett's largest single position by holding period (since the 1960s). The dividend has grown ~10% annually for the last decade. Treated as a network business not a bank by Smith's framework.
Live: /buffett/axp/.
6. Coca-Cola (KO) - yield 3.0%, frameworks 6-of-7
The Buffett textbook holding. 60+ year dividend-aristocrat track record. Higher yield than the payment networks, slower growth. Fails Lynch on EPS growth rate; passes everything else.
Live: /buffett/ko/.
7. Procter & Gamble (PG) - yield 2.5%, frameworks 5-of-7
Another 60+ year dividend-aristocrat. Passes Buffett, Graham, Munger, Smith, partial Fisher; fails Lynch and Greenblatt on growth/valuation respectively. A-grade dividend safety even through inflation cycles.
Live: /buffett/pg/.
8. Moody's (MCO) - yield 0.9%, frameworks 7-of-7
Credit-rating duopoly. Lower yield, higher growth. Buffett owns it through Berkshire. A-grade safety on extreme FCF cushion.
Live: /buffett/mco/.
9. S&P Global (SPGI) - yield 0.8%, frameworks 6-of-7
The other credit-rating duopolist. Same A-grade safety, similar growth profile. Fails Graham on P/E (typical of high-quality compounders), passes the other six frameworks.
Live: /buffett/spgi/.
10. Costco (COST) - yield 0.5%, frameworks 5-of-7
Buffett-Munger-aligned membership-driven moat. The yield is famously small, but Costco has a history of large special dividends (most recently $15/share in 2024). Adjusted for special dividends, the effective yield is closer to 1.5%. A-grade safety on the lowest payout ratio in the consumer-staples universe.
Live: /buffett/cost/.
Notable absences
These are the names you would expect to see on a dividend list but didn't make our combined filter:
- AT&T (T), Verizon (VZ) - high yield (5-7%) but fail dividend safety (C-grade payout ratio, declining FCF coverage, history of dividend cuts at AT&T). Yield is the trap.
- ExxonMobil (XOM), Chevron (CVX) - cyclical commodity exposure trips Smith and Fisher frameworks; below 5-of-7 consensus.
- 3M (MMM) - recent dividend cut + ongoing legal liabilities → D-grade safety.
- Realty Income (O) - REIT, excluded from quality universe.
- Altria (MO) - primary business test (tobacco) excluded for ESG screens; passes some frameworks but not the consensus filter we use.
The point of the strict filter: a high yield by itself is not enough. The business must also be passing the value-investing canon's quality tests, AND have demonstrated dividend-coverage safety.
How to verify any of these
Every stock named in this article has a live page with the current dividend yield, payout ratio, FCF coverage, debt/EBITDA, dividend safety letter grade, and the 7-framework consensus breakdown. Open any of them and the underlying numbers are visible:
If the underlying number doesn't match what's in this article, it's because fundamentals refreshed since the article was written. The live page is always current.
The bigger picture
Dividend-investing is value-investing's most-defensive flavour. The best dividend stocks are not the highest yielding - they are the ones where the dividend safety is unimpeachable AND the underlying business passes quality tests AND the price is reasonable.
The 7-framework + dividend-safety double filter narrows the universe to ten names. That's the sweet spot: enough diversification to be a real portfolio, tight enough to ensure quality on every name.
For a deeper read on what the dividend safety A-D grades actually mean, see our methodology post on dividend safety.
Disclosure
Educational tool. The stocks named in this article are mechanically-screened outputs of our published methodology applied to current fundamentals. They are not personalised investment recommendations. Past dividend history does not guarantee future payments; past framework consensus does not guarantee future returns. Tax treatment of dividends varies by country - German residents, for example, pay Abgeltungsteuer + Soli + Kirchensteuer on dividend income, which materially affects after-tax yield.
Author: Zaid Ghazal, founder of invest-like, Kiel, Germany.