The DivGro Weekly—15.08.25

196 Consecutive dividend increases

Weekly Dividend Progress

This week we received further real-time, tangible evidence of outstanding business progress when we collected our quarterly dividends from American Express, Mastercard and Texas Instruments and became entitled to our quarterly dividend from Visa, all meaningfully higher than this time last year.

How We Are Tracking

Since DivGro's inception we have predicted and benefited from 196 consecutive dividend increases across our portfolio companies, with no decreases. The average rate of these dividend increases is 14.4%.

DivGro in the Press

DivGro celebrates its sixth anniversary today. To mark this milestone, we featured on ausbiz earlier this week, highlighting the fund’s unique philosophy and excellent returns.

American Express

What better way for Amex to celebrate its 175th anniversary than with the announcement of a 17% uplift in its dividend? The originator of the plastic charge card in 1959 has continued to strengthen with age, generating sales of $65 billion in 2024. As the fourth largest card issuer today, Amex enjoys highly unique advantages relative to its peers. For one, given Amex provides credit — and thus includes a fairly arduous acceptance regimen to select only the absolute best risks — it also confers cream-of-the-crop privileges to successful applicants, including prestige airport lounge access and fast-tracked reservations at upscale restaurants. These trimmings validate its annual fees, which drive highly profitable upfront income, growing increasingly lucrative as new card cohorts mature. Plus, as the company’s cards base expands, Amex — blessed by Warren Buffett himself, with Berkshire Hathaway its largest investor — faces a long, profitable reinvestment runway, which bodes well for the expansion of its formidable dividend growth record.