The DivGro Weekly—06.02.26

208 Consecutive dividend increases

Weekly Dividend Progress

This week we received further real-time, tangible evidence of outstanding business progress when FirstService increased its dividend by 10.9%. We also collected our quarterly dividends from Danaher, Stryker and Watsco, all meaningfully higher than this time last year.

How We Are Tracking

Since DivGro's inception we have predicted and benefited from 208 consecutive dividend increases across our portfolio companies, with no decreases. The average rate of these dividend increases is 14.1%.

Watsco

The Nahmad family took control of Watsco — then a small manufacturer of air-conditioning equipment —in 1972. Fast-forward to today: Watsco recently marked a 50-year milestone of consecutive dividend payments, notably increasing its dividend more than 100-fold since 2000 with its share price rising in tandem. So, what factors have contributed to this astounding record? In 1989, Watsco pivoted from manufacturing to distribution. It began acquiring other family-run HVAC distributors, reinvesting aggressively to establish and then fortify scale advantages which have solidified Watsco as the dominant HVAC distribution leader in North America. Today, Watsco has a denser location footprint; carries deeper and broader inventory; provides faster fulfilment and superior service; and even invests in digital tools that make its customers (HVAC technicians) vastly more efficient such that in territories where Watsco is present, it makes little sense for technicians to explore other distributors. Given the HVAC distribution industry in the US is mostly comprised of fragmented, small operators, Watsco enjoys a long runway to continue its playbook and enhance its leadership, supporting a likely extension of its superb dividend growth record.