McDonald's Closes in on Elite Dividend King Status

McDonald's is one step away from achieving elite Dividend King status after increasing its dividend for 49 consecutive years. According to Yahoo Finance, McDonald's has consistently raised its payout since 1976 and is set to announce another increase, which would make it the 50th year of uninterrupted dividend growth.

The company currently pays $1.86 per share every quarter, with a recent raise in October 2025 lifting the quarterly dividend by 5% to $7.44 annually.

As a Dividend King, McDonald's would join an exclusive group of companies that have demonstrated their ability to return increasing amounts of cash to shareholders across multiple economic cycles.