Covered, compounding — income-light. A 0.99% yield is low for an income card, but it is covered and growing fast: $0.18 a quarter, raised 9% in October 2026 for the 33rd consecutive annual increase (company release, Oct. 21, 2026), on a 22.7% payout. This is a compounding card, not a current-income card.
Key risk: Acquisition-driven growth — Brown & Brown grows partly by buying brokerages, so deal prices and integration, not just organic growth, decide whether the low payout stays low.
Changes if: The payout pushes past about 50%, or the annual-increase streak breaks — either would remove the compounding case for holding a sub-1% yielder.
- ✓Payout-coverage check: 22.7% of earnings per StockAnalysis (about 20.8% per MarketBeat) — a low payout that leaves most earnings retained for growth and acquisitions.
- ✓Yield check: 0.99% indicated — $0.18/qtr × 4 at the $72.97 close on Oct. 23, 2026. Low, but real and earned; the card's value is growth, not current yield.
- ✓Dividend growth check: 33rd consecutive annual increase, per the company's Oct. 21, 2026 release; the latest raise lifted the quarterly rate 9%, from $0.165 to $0.18.
What this grade doesn't say: It screens the dividend only — covered, real, compounding. It says nothing about valuation or price: a well-covered payer can still be overpriced, and its price can still fall.