The article presents the highest-quality Dividend Contenders, companies listed on U.S. exchanges with higher annual dividend payouts for 10-24 consecutive years. It is the second of three articles covering the highest-quality Dividend Champions, Contenders, and Challengers by Quality Scores.
I use a quality scoring system with six quality indicators, each worth five points, for a maximum score of 30. The highest-quality Dividend Contenders score four or five points for each quality indicator.
Only 18 of 361 Dividend Contenders made the list of highest-quality Dividend Contenders, with Microsoft, Visa, and Mastercard earning bragging rights as the highest-quality Dividend Contenders in 2025.