Covered and compounding fast — but the yield is tiny. A 0.38% yield on a 10.0% trailing payout is covered many times over: $0.94 a quarter, raised in July 2026 from $0.82 — a 14.6% step — extending 18 years of increases. The dividend is exceptionally safe and fast-growing, but at 0.38% it pays almost no current income; its job in a plan is growth of the payout, not income today.
Key risk: Price, not payout — at 0.38% the card's job in a House plan is growth of the dividend, not current income, so a holder buying for income is mismatched from the start.
Changes if: Trailing payout climbs well above 10.0%, or the annual raise streak breaks.
- ✓Payout-coverage check: 10.0% of trailing earnings — an exceptionally wide cushion; nearly all earnings stay retained.
- !Yield check: 0.38% indicated — $0.94/qtr × 4 at the $1,000.77 close on Oct. 23, 2026. Real, earned cash dividend, but minimal current income.
- ✓Dividend growth check: 18 years of increases; the latest raise, to $0.94 from $0.82 in July 2026, was paid Oct. 1, 2026.
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.