The ASX is full of high-quality dividend payers. However, our local market arguably has a lot to learn from the United States and US dividend stocks when it comes to dividend growth and longevity.
To illustrate, the ASX share with the longest streak of annual dividends increases on the ASX is income champion Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co Ltd (ASX: SOL). But over in the US, there are more than 50 stocks that have increased their shareholder payouts for more than 50 years. Some, including Procter & Gamble Inc (NYSE: PG), are nudging 70.
But today, let's discuss two US stocks that don't yet have long dividend streaks, but are increasing their dividends at a breakneck pace.
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Two US dividend stocks with fast-growing payouts
Costco Wholesale Corp (NASDAQ: COST)
First up, we have the famously bulk-focused supermarket operator, Costco. Although Costco still has a relatively small presence in Australia, there might be a few readers with a membership card in their wallets. Costco is one of the finest grocery retailers in the world, evidenced by its 1,300% stock price rise or so over the past 15 years.
At first glance, this might not look like a dividend heavyweight, given Costco shares are trading on a rather paltry-looking dividend yield of 0.56%. However, what investors should note is how fast this dividend has been rising of late. Not to mention the 21-year streak of annual increases.
Back in 2020, Costco's quarterly dividend was worth 70 cents per share. But this was recently upped to $1.30 per share, representing a five-year growth average of 12.97% per annum.
If these payouts keep rising at this rate (which one should never assume), long-term investors will be laughing all the way to the bank.
Visa Inc (NYSE: V)
Visa is a company we'd all be familiar with. In fact, there is a high likelihood that almost every reader would have a Visa card to their name as we speak.
This company provides a global payments network, helping connect customers' bank accounts to retailers. As the world has shifted more and more of its payments away from cash and towards cards and other electronic transactions, Visa has been a prime beneficiary. Like Costco, it has seen phenomenal success in recent years, with its shares rising by more than 1,600% since this time in 2010.
Again, you wouldn't think of Visa as a dividend stock, given its current yield of around 0.8%. However, Visa has been increasing its shareholder payments with gusto, raising the quarterly dividend from 30 cents per share in 2020 to its most recent payout of 67 cents. That's a five-year growth rate worth 14.87% per annum.
