The ASX share market does not have many ASX dividend shares that have increased their payout every year for more than a decade.
It's extremely rare to find stocks that have increased their payout every year for more than two decades.
Let's look at the two ASX dividend shares with the longest dividend growth streaks.
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APA Group (ASX: APA)
APA is one of the largest energy infrastructure businesses in Australia. Energy is one of the most important aspects of the Australian economy, so APA plays a significant role in society.
Its key asset is a huge gas pipeline network around Australia, transporting gas from supply to demand. Impressively, it transports half of Australia's gas usage.
APA also has a number of other energy assets including gas-powered energy generation, wind farms, solar farms, gas storage, gas processing and electricity transmission.
The business has grown its annual distribution every year since 2004, meaning it has delivered more than two decades of continuous distribution growth.
Its FY26 annual distribution has been hiked to 58 cents per security, which translates into a distribution yield of 5.8%, at the time of writing.
I think the company's passive income payments can continue to grow thanks to regular additions to its energy portfolio and the fact that most of its revenue is linked to inflation.
Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL)
The other ASX dividend share I want to highlight is investment house Soul Patts, which I'd call the leader of dividend growth in Australia.
This 120-year-old business has increased its annual payout every year since 1998, meaning it's getting close to 30 years of continuous growth.
Soul Patts has built up a very diversified portfolio of businesses and sectors in its portfolio, which I think makes it an excellent investment to consider as a cornerstone dividend investment for Aussies.
It's invested in areas like energy, resources, building products, telecommunications, industrial property, swimming schools, agriculture, electrification, financial services, credit and plenty more.
Its portfolio is designed to be able to perform in all economic conditions, including downturns, with a strong focus on cash flow. This can help fund the dividend in all conditions, which is why it has been able to grow its dividend so consistently.
Growth comes from a couple of key aspects. Firstly, most of the ASX dividend share's investments are in businesses, which can grow themselves. Additionally, Soul Patts does not pay out all of its portfolio's net cash flow each year to shareholders – it retains some of that money and puts it into additional opportunities.
Its latest two dividends come to a grossed-up dividend yield of 3.4%, including franking credits, at the time of writing.
