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Long-term wealth is created when one’s investments provide not only for themselves, but for their children, grandchildren, and beyond. Unfortunately, the skills that it takes to build and maintain a growing investment portfolio are typically not transferred with an inheritance.

The good news is that quality dividend growth stocks can build wealth that lasts through the generations.

The following 3 dividend growth stocks have raised their dividends for over 25 years, and should continue to raise their dividends for decades to come. In this way, they will help shareholders create long-term wealth.

W.W. Grainger (GWW)

W.W. Grainger, headquartered in Lake Forest, IL, is one of the largest business-to-business distributors of maintenance, repair, and operations (“MRO”) supplies in the world. The company was founded in 1927 and generated sales of $17.2 billion in 2024.

On August 1st, 2025, W.W. Grainger posted its Q2 results for the period ending June 30th, 2025. For the quarter, revenues were $4.55 billion, up 5.6% on a reported basis and up 5.1% on a daily, constant currency basis compared to last year. The High-Touch Solutions segment saw sales grow by 2.5% on a reported basis, and 2.8% on a daily, constant currency basis due to broad-based growth across all geographies.

In the Endless Assortment segment, sales were up 19.7%. Revenue growth for the segment was driven by strong performance at both MonotaRO and Zoro. Net income equaled $482 million, up 2.6% compared to Q2-2024. Net income was supported by strong expense leverage in Endless Assortment, even as gross margin declined 80 basis points to 38.5%, and operating margin fell 20 basis points to 14.9%.

Margin pressure in High-Touch from tariff-related inflation was partially offset by improvements at Zoro. Earnings-per-share came in at $9.97, 4.8% higher year-over-year, and were aided by a lower share count.

Grainger had grown its earnings-per-share at a CAGR of 14.0% between 2015 and 2024. This result was driven by ~5.7% annual revenue growth, an expanding profit margin, and a share count that has been reduced by an average of -2.6% per year. Grainger’s strategic shift of lowering its pricing, thereby creating higher demand, and growing its revenues, seems to have worked well. Over the intermediate period, profit growth will be driven not only by rising revenue but also by a reduction in the company’s share count. The company repurchased $1.25 billion worth of its stock during 2024.

GWW has increased its dividend for 53 consecutive years, making it a Dividend King.

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 United States. The company has increased its dividend for 53 consecutive years.

On August 7th, 2025, BD announced results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2025, which ended June 30th, 2025. For the quarter, revenue improved 10.4% to $5.5 billion, which was $10 million more than expected. On a currency neutral basis, revenue increased 8.5%. Adjusted earnings-per-share of $3.68 compared favorably to $3.50 in the prior year and was $0.28 more than anticipated.

For the quarter, U.S. grew 10% while international was up 11% on a reported basis. Excluding currency exchange, international was higher by 9.8%. Organic growth was higher by 3% for the period.

BD partially reaffirmed its outlook for fiscal year 2025 as well. Revenue is still projected to be in a range of $21.8 billion to $21.9 billion, compared to $21.7 billion to $21.9 billion previously. Adjusted earnings-per-share is expected to be in a range of $14.30 to $14.45.

Abbott Laboratories (ABT)

Abbott Laboratories, founded in 1888, is one of the largest medical appliances & equipment manufacturers in the world, comprised of four segments: Nutrition, Diagnostics, Established Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices. The company generated sales of $42 billion in 2024.

On December 13th, 2024, Abbott Laboratories raised its quarterly dividend 7.3% to $0.59, extending the company’s dividend growth streak to 53 years. ABT is a member of the Dividend Kings list.

On October 15th, 2025, Abbott Laboratories reported third quarter results for the period ending September 30th, 2025. For the quarter, the company generated sales of $11.4 billion (62.2% outside of the U.S.), which represented growth of 6.8%, but this was $20 million below estimates. Adjusted earnings-per-share of $1.30 compared favorably to $1.21 in the prior year and was in-line with expectations. U.S. sales grew 2.3% while international was up 9.9%.

Nutrition was up 4.0% organically during the quarter as this segment benefited from increased demand for Ensure and Glucerna. Diagnostics fell 7.8%, but this segment was actually higher by 0.4% when excluding Covid-19 tests. Established Pharmaceuticals improved 7.1% due to double-digit gains in Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. Medical Devices continues to post excellent results, with organic sales surging 12.5%.

The U.S. grew 13.8% and international markets increased 11.3%. This growth was driven by high demand for products in Diabetes Care, Electrophysiology, Rhythm Management, Heart Failure, and Structural Heart. Abbott Laboratories again narrowed its prior guidance for 2025 as well, with the company now expecting adjusted earnings-per-share in a range of $5.12 to $5.18 for the year.

Earnings-per-share have a CAGR of 9.0% since 2015 and 7.1% since 2020. With its strong position in growth markets such as diagnostics, where Abbott Laboratories is the market leader in point-of care diagnostics - and cardiovascular medical devices, Abbott Laboratories should be able to generate attractive long-term growth.

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