Colgate-Palmolive has paid dividends since 1895 and raised them for 60+ years. See CL's dividend history, safety outlook, risks, and how to earn its payout.
About $220/year at the current 2.2% yield, before any future raises or reinvestment.
Colgate-Palmolive has paid a dividend without interruption since 1895 — before the Wright brothers flew — and has raised it every year for more than six decades, earning its place on the dividend kings list. According to Kantar's global brand studies, Colgate is the most widely chosen consumer brand on Earth: more households buy a Colgate product each year than any other brand in any category.
| Uninterrupted dividends since | 1895 |
| Consecutive annual raises | More than 60 years |
| Status | Dividend King and Dividend Aristocrat |
| Payment months | February, May, August, November |
| Recent raise pace | Modest — roughly 3–4% per year, announced in March |
| Payout ratio | Roughly 55–60% of earnings |
Current yield, annual dividend, and the exact streak length are shown live in the stats bar above.
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 1806 | William Colgate opens a starch, soap, and candle shop in New York |
| 1895 | First dividend paid — every year since, uninterrupted |
| 1928 | Colgate merges with Palmolive-Peet |
| 1963 | Start of the unbroken streak of annual increases |
| 1976 | Acquires Hill's Pet Nutrition, today its fastest-growing business |
| Today | 130+ consecutive years of dividend payments |
Colgate sells in more than 200 countries and holds roughly 40% of the global toothpaste market — in some countries its share is far higher. Toothpaste, soap, and dish liquid are bought on autopilot in booms and recessions alike, which is exactly the demand profile a 60-year raise streak requires.
Unlike most US staples giants, Colgate earns the majority of its sales outside the US, with an unusually deep footprint in Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Rising incomes in those markets have quietly compounded the business for decades.
Hill's Science Diet and Prescription Diet — the vet-recommended pet food brands — have become Colgate's growth engine, riding the "pets as family" wave with pricing power the toothpaste aisle can only envy.
Colgate's risks are mostly of the slow-grind variety:
The realistic downside: not a cut — a dividend paid since 1895 is about as bulletproof as equities get — but years of 3% raises that only just outpace inflation.
The income callout above shows what a $10,000 position generates at today's yield. Two things compound from there:
Colgate is a sleep-well foundation holding — the classic defensive staple.
Every major broker offers CL with fractional shares and free reinvestment — compare platforms, or meet its 60-year peers on the full dividend aristocrats list.
Yes. Colgate-Palmolive has increased its dividend every year for more than six decades, clearing the 50-year bar for Dividend King status, and it is also a Dividend Aristocrat. On top of the raise streak, it has paid uninterrupted dividends since 1895.
Colgate-Palmolive pays dividends quarterly, typically in February, May, August, and November. The annual increase is usually announced in March.
Colgate's dividend is considered very safe. The payout ratio sits near the high-50s percent of earnings, the products are daily-repurchase staples, and the company has paid a dividend through every war, depression, and recession since 1895.
Every top broker we review offers CL with $0 commissions, fractional shares, and free dividend reinvestment.