Altria has raised its dividend nearly 60 times in 55+ years. See MO's dividend history, high-yield safety outlook, real risks, and how to earn its payout.
About $571/year at the current 5.7% yield, before any future raises or reinvestment.
Altria is the most polarizing name on the dividend kings list: a company whose core product has been in decline for decades, yet which has raised its dividend nearly 60 times in the last 55-plus years. Its predecessor, Philip Morris, was famously identified by Wharton professor Jeremy Siegel as the single best-performing US stock of the entire 20th century — almost all of it thanks to reinvested dividends.
| Dividend payments since | The 1920s, under the Philip Morris name |
| Consecutive annual raises | More than 55 years |
| Status | Dividend King and Dividend Aristocrat |
| Payment months | January, April, July, October |
| Recent raise pace | Roughly 4% per year, announced each August |
| Payout policy | Explicit target of about 80% of adjusted earnings |
Current yield, annual dividend, and the exact streak length are shown live in the stats bar above.
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 1847 | Philip Morris founded as a London tobacco shop |
| 1950s–60s | Marlboro becomes the best-selling cigarette in the world |
| 1970 | Start of the unbroken streak of annual dividend increases |
| 2003 | Philip Morris renames itself Altria |
| 2007–2008 | Spins off Kraft Foods, then Philip Morris International — and keeps raising the dividend on what's left |
| Today | One of the highest yields among all Dividend Kings |
US cigarette volumes have fallen almost every year for decades — and Altria's revenue has held up anyway. Marlboro commands roughly 40% of US retail share, and its loyal customer base has absorbed price increase after price increase. Fewer cigarettes sold at ever-higher prices has been a workable formula for over half a century.
Most companies treat the dividend as a residual. Altria publishes a target: return around 80% of adjusted earnings to shareholders. With almost no capital-intensive operations — tobacco is a mature, low-reinvestment business — the cash simply has nowhere else to go.
In 2007–2008, Altria handed shareholders Kraft and then its entire international business (Philip Morris International). The remaining US-only company kept the streak alive anyway — proof the dividend culture runs deeper than any single asset.
Altria's risks are more serious than those of a typical King, and the yield tells you the market knows it:
The realistic downside: a frozen or slow-growing dividend if regulation bites, rather than an imminent cut — the 80% payout target leaves cushion, but not much.
The income callout above shows what a $10,000 position generates at today's yield — and with Altria, that starting number is the story. Two ways it compounds:
Altria is a high-income satellite, not a foundation: size the position so a worst-case dividend freeze stings rather than sinks you.
Every major broker offers MO with fractional shares and free reinvestment — compare platforms, or browse the full dividend aristocrats list for tamer alternatives.
Yes. Altria has increased its dividend for more than 55 consecutive years — raising it nearly 60 times over that stretch — which clears the 50-year bar for Dividend King status. It is also a Dividend Aristocrat as a long-standing S&P 500 member.
Altria's yield is among the highest in the S&P 500 because the market prices in the long-term decline of US smoking. Investors demand a bigger current payout to compensate for a shrinking core business, even though the dividend itself has kept growing.
For now, yes. Altria explicitly targets paying out around 80% of adjusted earnings and has kept raising the dividend through decades of falling cigarette volumes, thanks to relentless pricing power. The long-run risk is regulatory — a nicotine cap or menthol ban would pressure the model.
Every top broker we review offers MO with $0 commissions, fractional shares, and free dividend reinvestment.