Three Dividend Growth Stocks Emerging Amid Market Shifts
Record highs for the S&P 500 and Dow are reshaping where dividend growth stocks may fit in a portfolio. With corporate earnings surprising to the upside and AI linked tech stocks back in focus, investors looking for growing income streams now have a fresh backdrop to consider.
Three dividend growth stocks from our screener appear closely tied to these market drivers: Entergy (ETR), UnitedHealth Group (UNH), and Cardinal Health (CAH).
Entergy is a regulated US electric utility that generates, transmits, and sells power to about 3.1 million customers across Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas using gas, nuclear, coal, hydro, and solar assets. It also owns interests in non-nuclear power plants that sell into wholesale markets and provides decommissioning services for other nuclear operators.
Entergy gives investors exposure to power demand in the Gulf South at a time when electricity use from data centers, industry, and population trends is closely watched, while also offering a dividend that has been growing. Analysts point to a large capital plan tied to renewables, grid resilience, and potential small modular nuclear projects.
UnitedHealth Group is a large health care company that combines insurance plans under UnitedHealthcare with services across its Optum segments to help individuals, employers, and public programs pay for and receive medical care. It connects health benefits, pharmacy services, data and software tools, and direct care delivery to manage both costs and patient outcomes.
UnitedHealth Group is noted for dividend growth that is supported by a mix of health insurance, pharmacy benefits, and data driven care services, backed by a long operating history. The company sits at the center of US health spending, and its Medicare Advantage and Optum units are at the heart of current debates on margins, regulation, and care quality.
Cardinal Health is a large healthcare services company that sits between drug makers and care providers, distributing branded and generic medicines and supplying a wide range of medical products to hospitals, pharmacies, clinics, and patients at home. Operations: Cardinal Health generates most of its roughly US$231.4b in annual revenue from Pharmaceutical and Specialty Solutions.