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Income investors looking for safe dividends should consider dividend growth stocks, such as the Dividend Kings. Dividend powerhouses are companies that have maintained long histories of increasing their dividends each year, even during recessions.

And when it comes to dividend powerhouses, there are no better stocks to choose from than the Dividend Kings. The following 3 Dividend Kings are attractive dividend growth stocks with recession-proof dividends.

Becton, Dickinson & Co. (BDX)

Becton, Dickinson & Co. is a global leader in the medical supply industry. The company was founded in 1897 and has 75,000 employees across 190 countries.

The company generates about $20 billion in annual revenue, with approximately 43% of revenues coming from outside of the U.S.

On February 5th, 2025, BD released results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2025, which ended December 31st, 2024. For the quarter, revenue increased 9.8% to $5.17 billion, which was $60 million more than expected.

On a currency neutral basis, revenue improved 9.6%. Adjusted earnings-per-share of $3.43 compared favorably to $2.68 in the prior year and was $0.44 ahead of estimates.

For the quarter, U.S. grew 12% while international was up 6.7% on a reported basis. Excluding currency, international was higher by 6.3%. Organic growth was up 3.9% for the period.

The Medical segment grew 17.1% organically to $2.62 billion, mostly due to gains in Mediation Management Solutions and Medication Delivery Solutions. Life Science was up 0.5% to $1.3 billion.

BD provided an outlook for fiscal year 2025 as well. Revenue is projected to be in a range of $21.7 billion to $21.9 billion for the fiscal year, down from $21.9 billion to $22.1 billion previously. Adjusted earnings-per-share is expected to be in a range of $14.30 to $14.60.

BD has now increased its dividend for 53 consecutive years. This makes the company a member of the Dividend Kings. The dividend has a compound annual growth rate of 5.2% over the last 10 years.

Consolidated Edison (ED)

Consolidated Edison is a holding company that delivers electricity, natural gas, and steam to its customers in New York City and Westchester County. The company has annual revenues of nearly $16 billion.

Average rate base balances are still expected to grow by 6.4% annually over the next five years, up from 6% previously. Consolidated Edison continues to expect capital investments of nearly $28 billion for the 2024 to 2028 period.

The company expects 5% to 7% earnings growth per year over the next five years.

Thanks to rate hikes and population growth, the company has been able to raise its dividend for nearly five decades. Consolidated Edison initiated its biggest investment program in its history last year. It has completed its installation smart meters in its network. This will help customers optimize energy use while the company will be able to realize lower peak demand and thus reduce its operating cost.

Just like most other utilities, thanks to its heavy investments in infrastructure, Consolidated Edison is typically allowed by the regulatory authorities to raise its rates. As a result, it enjoys reliable cash flows and can thus service its debt.

One key competitive advantage for Consolidated Edison is that consumers do not curtail their electricity consumption even during the roughest economic periods, so the stock is resilient during recessions.

Kenvue Inc. (KVUE)

Kenvue Inc. (KVUE) is a consumer healthcare company that was spun off from Johnson & Johnson. Kenvue has three segments, including Self Care, Skin Health and Beauty, and Essential Health.

Self-Care’s product portfolio includes cough, cold, allergy, smoking cessation, and pain care products among others. Skin Health and Beauty holds products such as face, body, hair, and sun care. Essential Health contains products for women’s health, wound care, oral care, and baby care. Well-known brands in Kenvue’s product line up include Tylenol, Listerine, Band-Aid, Neutrogena, Nicorette, and Zyrtec. These businesses contributed approximately 17% of Johnson & Johnson’s annual revenue.

While Kenvue is a new, standalone business, it carries Johnson & Johnson’s 60+ year dividend increase streak. On July 25th, 2024, Kenvue announced that it was raising its quarterly dividend 2.5% to $0.205.

On February 6^th, the company released fourth-quarter and full-year financial results. Fourth-quarter net sales declined 0.1% year-over-year, although organic sales increased 1.7%, offset by unfavorable currency translation. Fourth-quarter adjusted diluted earnings per share fell to $0.26 from $0.31 in the prior-year period.

For the full year, net sales rose 0.1% due to organic growth of 1.5%, partially offset by currency translation. Organic sales growth was driven by 2.7% price increases, partially offset by 1.2% volume decline.

For 2024, Kenvue’s adjusted diluted earnings per share were $1.14, a decline from $1.29 in 2023.

Kenvue consists of just the consumer products businesses, which often produced the lowest levels of growth. Therefore, we expect that Kenvue will grow earnings-per share by 3% annually through 2030. KVUE stock currently yields 4.0%.

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