America’s Best Dividend Stock Has A Good Year

Altria (NYSE: MO | MO Price Prediction) shares, which have one of the best dividend performances in the S&P 500, have tracked the market this year. It may be “built” for safety, but investors have gained 13% in price, which matches the S&P 500.

Altria has also outperformed many of the megatech stocks that people are supposed to buy for their huge price surges. Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA)is down 23% this year. Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is up only 2%. Apple’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) stock move up this year is about the same as Altria’s. Meta (NASDAQ: META) is down 10%.

Altria, a cigarette company, has no AI exposure. That means the hundreds of billions of dollars several of America’s largest tech companies are spending represent a financial risk. Altria has almost none. If AI explodes, as many investors think it will, the safest safe-haven stocks offer the best protection.

Better, much better, than all of these, Altria has a yield of 6.5%. It has raised its dividend 60 times in the last 56 years.

Altria’s top brand, which accounts for over 90% of its sales, is Marlboro. It used to be listed among the world’s most valuable brands and was sometimes in the top 10. It has been dropped completely from those lists, likely because it is tobacco, which, because of its health effects, is shied away from. It is still, however, probably the best-known cigarette brand in the world.

So, regardless of its yield benefits and strong balance, the company remains a difficult investment for many because of its products. The plain fact is that the CDC reports that 480,000 Americans die from smoking every year. Worldwide, the figure is above 8 million. It is the largest preventable cause of death globally. Altria is a “sin stock,” a term usually applied to all tobacco and alcohol companies.

In the second quarter Altria’s revenue was flat at $6.1 billion. Diluted EPS dropped 3% to $1.37. Another reason for people who want stock “safety” is Altria’s series of buybacks. The company announced, “Through the first half, we repurchased 5.3 million shares at an average price of $62.78 per share, for a total cost of $335 million. As of June 30, 2026, we had $665 million remaining under our $2 billion share repurchase program, which expires on December 31, 2026.” Finally, it narrowed its full-year guidance.

“Sin stocks” will always have some people who object to owning them. Some institutions as well may decide it looks bad to own them. For everyone else, Altria is a nearly perfect stock to hold against what is an inevitable market selloff.

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