3 Giants Across Sectors Lift Dividends 15% or More

Huge names across the financial, industrial, and technology sectors just announced dividend increases worth noting. The dividend boosts coming from these three firms aren’t run-of-the-mill; they are all near or above 15%.

One company, benefiting extensively from artificial intelligence (AI) demand, went even further. With the expectation of doubling AI revenue in its new fiscal year, it raised its dividend by 20%, placing its yield in the upper echelon among tech stocks.

AXP Lifts Dividend 16% Amid Citrini Fears

Credit card giant American Express (NYSE: AXP) has been a solid performer over the past several years, but has come under fire recently. The stock’s three-year total return exceeds 70%, essentially equal to the S&P 500’s return over the same period. However, the stock is down almost 20% in 2026.

Shares took a big tumble after the release of a dystopian paper put out by Citrini Research. Among other things, Citrini posited a scenario in which AI agents would use stablecoins to route payments outside of traditional card networks.

This could allow merchants to bypass the fees they currently pay every time someone makes a purchase using an American Express card. Such a scenario would clearly be bearish for American Express.

Still, Citrini’s paper wasn’t a prediction but rather a thought exercise meant to model an “underexplored” AI scenario.

As for American Express itself, the company is continuing to show confidence in its future, recently announcing a big-time dividend increase. The firm’s quarterly payment will move up by 16% to 95 cents per share. This gives the stock a solid indicated dividend yield near 1.3%, higher than the 1.1% yield offered by the S&P 500 Index. The firm will pay its next quarterly dividend on May 8 to shareholders of record on April 3.

WM Posts Record Margin, Issues Double-Digit Dividend Increase

Waste Management (NYSE: WM) is a stock that many investors may consider boring, but its performance provides real room for excitement. Over the past three years, Waste Management’s total return has been nearly 70%. The stock has also been on a strong run in 2026, up 12% as the S&P 500 has fallen slightly.

As a leader in the waste industry, the firm has strong pricing power. This allows Waste Management to pass on inflationary price increases to its customers and then some, helping expand margins.

Notably, Waste Management’s core pricing increased by 6.3% in 2025. This contributed to the company posting its best operating expenses as a percentage of revenue in 2025. In other words, the firm posted its best adjusted operating earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) margin ever.

The company sees core pricing rising by 5.6% at the midpoint in 2026. This is 250 basis points higher than its expected cost inflation, demonstrating WM’s impressive pricing power.

Adding to the positive news, Waste Management just boosted its quarterly dividend by nearly 15%. The company will pay its next 94.5-cent quarterly dividend on March 27 to shareholders of record on March 13. The stock now holds an indicated dividend yield of approximately 1.3%.

DELL’s Dividend Soars Along With AI Orders

Last up is Dell Technologies (NYSE: DELL), which has gained almost 300% in the past three years. The stock’s performance in 2026 has not been shabby at all, up more than 15%.  The company blasted past expectations in its latest earnings report, sending shares up more than 20%.

Dell has been seeing huge demand for its AI-optimized servers. In Q4, the firm booked over $34 billion in AI orders, while shipping only $9.5 billion. This shows that customers are demanding Dell’s AI solutions far faster than it can deliver them. Importantly, the company ended its fiscal year 2026 (FY2026) with a record AI backlog of $43 billion. (Note that Dell’s fiscal year is several quarters ahead of the calendar year period.)

Looking into FY2027, Dell sees its AI revenue doubling to $50 billion, and total revenue growing by 23% at the midpoint. Achieving this would mark Dell’s fastest total revenue growth since FY2018.

Dell is also rewarding investors with a big-time dividend increase, lifting its quarterly payout by 20%. The firm plans to pay its next 63-cent dividend on May 1 to shareholders of record as of the April 21 close. Dell’s indicated dividend yield now sits at 1.7%, ranking in the top 20 highest among U.S. large-cap technology stocks.

DELL: Impressive Growth Expectations, Below Average Forward P/E

Overall, AXP, WM, and DELL are all adding significant juice to their income-return profiles. Among this group, Dell stands out. Amid surging AI demand, the stock trades at a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of only around 11.5x, slightly below its three-year average of 12x.

Companies Mentioned in This Article: