Three S&P 500 Index constituents, as well as one of the world’s biggest names in oil and gas, are raising dividends as 2025 gets started. The firm not in the S&P 500 also announced billions in new buyback authorization. All dividend yield and return metrics use prices as of the Jan. 31 close.
Blackstone: Dividend Spikes After Historically Good Quarter
One of the heavy hitters in the alternative asset management industry, Blackstone (NYSE: BX) just announced a hefty dividend increase for shareholders. The company’s upcoming quarterly dividend for shareholders of record on Feb. 10 will be $1.44 per share. This represents a massive increase of 67% from the firm’s Nov. 4 dividend of $0.86 per share.
A point of note when it comes to Blackstone is that the company alters its dividend payment substantially almost every quarter. Due to this, it becomes more difficult than usual to forecast the company’s annual dividend yield. However, back in 2022, the company started the year off with a $1.45 dividend.
Through all of 2022, the company paid out $4.94 per share. Using this as an approximation of the company’s dividend payments for 2025, the company’s annual dividend yield projects to be 2.8%.
The massive increase in the firm’s dividend came from the company having “one of the best quarters in our history," according to Chief Executive Officer Stephen Schwarzman. For the full year 2024, the company’s net income per share increased by an incredible 97% from 2023.
Shell: Dividend Increase Plus Billions in Buybacks
Energy giant Shell (NYSE: SHEL) also just raised dividends. It has a key difference from the three other firms on this list; it is not in the S&P 500. The company’s dividend per American Depository Share (ADS) comes in at $0.72. An ADS represents shares in non-U.S. companies that investors can buy on U.S. exchanges. It will be payable on Mar. 24 to shareholders of record on Feb. 14.
The raise isn’t huge at just 4%, but it adds a little juice to the company’s already strong dividend yield. If the company pays this dividend in every quarter of 2025, it will achieve a dividend yield of 4.3%.
In addition to the dividend increase, Shell also announced the beginning of a buyback program. The value of the program is $3.5 billion. The company plans to use this full buyback authority over the next quarter. It would mark the 13th in a row that Shell has repurchased at least $3 billion worth of stock.
Smurfit WestRock: New Kid on the Basic Material Block Issues Big-Time Dividend Increase
Next up is a lesser-known firm that still finds itself as an S&P 500 constituent and one of the 20 largest basic materials firms in the index. That company is Smurfit WestRock (NYSE: SW). Like Blackstone, the company also issued a massive dividend increase. Its dividend will go from $0.30 per share to $0.43 per share, an increase of 42%. The company will pay it out on Mar. 18 to shareholders of record on Feb. 14. Overall, this gives the firm an indicated dividend yield of 3.2% for 2025.
Smurfit Kappa acquired WestRock in July 2024, forming Smurfit WestRock. Together, they form one of the world’s largest packaging corporations. The companies make paper-based packaging solutions.
The purpose of the transaction was to create a company that is a leader in sustainable packaging. Sustainable packaging was WestRock’s area of expertise. Since the companies began trading as a combined entity, shares have appreciated by an impressive 42%.
Charles Schwab: Dividend Higher on Strong Revenue and Earnings Growth
Financial giant Charles Schwab (NYSE: SCHW) raised its regular quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share, up from $0.25. This is an increase of 8%. Extending this payment through every quarter of 2025 gives the company an indicated dividend yield of 1.3%. Although this yield is by far the lowest on the list, it is worth noting that it is higher than the yield of the S&P 500, which sits just under 1.2%.
Schwab’s success in the final quarter of 2024 was solid, as it grew revenues by 20%. The company’s over $5.3 billion in revenue was its highest quarterly figure since Q4 2022.
Even more impressive was the company’s adjusted earnings per share (EPS) growth of nearly 49%. It was a significant surprise compared to consensus analyst estimates and marked the fastest pace of earnings growth since Q3 2021.
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