Consumer staples and healthcare can be long-lasting industries to invest in.
Costco is very profitable and relies on their proven membership model.
AbbVie is overcoming Humira patent losses and ushering in its next era of growth.
10 Stocks We Like Better Than Costco Wholesale ›
Dividend stocks can provide a significant path to improving your portfolio’s returns. Investing in companies with a track record of profitability and favorable cash flows that have the financial foundation to support continued payout can benefit your portfolio through both share price returns and dividend income.
If you’re looking for dividend stocks to double right now, here are two names to consider the next time you add to your investment portfolio..
Image source: Getty Images.
Wholesale Costco(NASDAQ: COST) has increased its regular quarterly dividend every year for more than two decades and counting. Its current annual regular dividend is $5.20 per share, and the last quarterly payment was $1.30 per share in November 2025. The company is known for periodically paying large one-time special dividends to return excess cash to shareholders. Previous special dividends included $15 per share in December 2023 and $10 per share in December 2020.
While Costco’s dividend yield is low (less than 1%), this is because its share price has soared due to its strong business performance over the years and has outpaced its dividend growth. The company typically prioritizes reinvesting profits and issuing large, infrequent special dividends rather than consistently high regular payouts. While its regular dividend is modest, its high-margin membership model generates enormous cash flow to enable these large, sporadic cash returns, which significantly increase shareholder value over time, even if the declared return appears small. Case in point: Costco earned a total return (including dividends) of nearly 150% over the last five-year period.
Costco also maintains a low payout ratio of approximately 27%, so the company continues to retain ample earnings for growth and reinvestment. Unlike traditional retailers, most of Costco’s profitability comes from predictable, high-margin annual membership dues, which reached more than $1.3 billion in the first quarter of fiscal 2026.
This reliable revenue stream allows the company to operate its warehouses with extremely low margins and pass these significant savings on to its members. This value proposition fosters fierce customer loyalty, with consistently high renewal rates (around 92% in the US and Canada). Even during periods of inflation or economic uncertainty, consumers remain loyal because bulk purchases and low prices make membership a valuable investment that helps them save money.
Costco also maintains a limited, curated product selection (about 4,000 SKUs compared to tens of thousands at other retailers), giving it enormous purchasing and negotiating power with suppliers and increasing operational efficiency. Beyond groceries, its services, including gas stations, optical centers and e-commerce, generate additional traffic and revenue streams that further protect the company from dependence on a single product category and meet a wide range of member needs.
For the fiscal year ending August 31, 2025, Costco’s annual revenue reached $275.2 billion, an increase of 8.2% from the previous year. Its most recent quarterly revenue (Q1 FY2026) was $67.31 billion, up a similar 8.3% year-over-year. Net revenue for fiscal 2025 was $8.1 billion, up approximately 10% year over year, and first quarter net revenue totaled $2 billion, an increase of 11% from the prior-year quarter.
abbvie(NYSE: ABBV) has increased its dividend every year for 54 consecutive years, a track record that places the company as a notable name on the list of income stocks known as Dividend Kings. The stock offers an annual forward dividend of $6.92 per share, which translates to a yield of around 3%, significantly higher than the S&P 500 average yield of 1.1%.
The company has effectively managed the patent cliff on its former best-selling drug, Humira, with rapid growth in sales of new immune drugs Skyrizi and Rinvoq. These two drugs are projected to reach combined sales of more than $31 billion by 2027. Skyrizi and Rinvoq are approved for a variety of conditions, including psoriasis, Crohn’s disease, and ulcerative colitis, and are showing strong gains in market share. The recent patent litigation settlement for Rinvoq has extended its exclusivity in the US market until 2037.
AbbVie’s business is diversified into immunology, neuroscience, oncology and aesthetics. Its acquisition of ImmunoGen in 2024 was a crucial acquisition for AbbVie because it provided a leading antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) platform to its portfolio. An ADC combines a cancer-targeting antibody with a chemotherapy drug. The acquisition also added ovarian cancer drug Elahere to AbbVie’s list of approved therapies, in addition to a robust portfolio of next-generation ADCs for solid tumors and blood cancers. ImmunoGen assets were expected to boost AbbVie’s earnings by 2027.
AbbVie’s neuroscience portfolio is the second-largest and fastest-growing segment for the company, which posted a 20% increase in third-quarter 2025 revenue. Key growth drivers include Vraylar for bipolar I disorder and major depressive disorder, and migraine treatments Ubrelvy and Qulipta.
Looking at its pipeline, AbbVie’s potential new Parkinson’s disease treatment, tavapadon, is one of many in its pipeline that deserve close monitoring. AbbVie recently filed for FDA approval for this novel dopamine D1/D5 receptor agonist, obtained through its previous acquisition of Cerevel Therapeutics, which has shown promise as a once-daily oral option for both early and advanced Parkinson’s disease, achieving a reduction in motor symptoms. The candidate could potentially fill a significant gap in care during downtime periods that are common with existing drugs.
AbbVie reported global net revenue of $15.8 billion in the third quarter of 2025, an increase of 9.1% year-over-year. Total revenue for the trailing 12 months ending September 30, 2025 was $59.6 billion. Net income may be volatile due to one-time charges, such as those related to acquisitions. However, the company consistently generates high operating income and cash flow of around $19 billion annually starting in 2024.
Before you buy shares in Costco Wholesale, consider this:
He Varied and Dumb Stock Advisor The analyst team has just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Costco Wholesale was not one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when netflix made this list on December 17, 2004… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you would have $509,470!* Or when NVIDIA made this list on April 15, 2005… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you would have $1,167,988!*
Now, it is worth noting stock advisor The total average return is 991.%: An overwhelming outperformance of the market compared to the S&P 500’s 196%. Don’t miss the latest Top 10 list, available with Stock Advisorand join an investing community created by individual investors for individual investors.
See the 10 actions »
*Stock Advisor returns from December 22, 2025
Rachel Warren has positions at AbbVie. The Motley Fool ranks and recommends AbbVie and Costco Wholesale. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
2 Dividend Stocks to Double Right Now was originally published by The Motley Fool
