10 Best Dividend Stocks of All Time Dividends were how people traditionally got their money out on investments. The obsession with capital gains is relatively recent. It’s not the only way for management to give you money. Stock buybacks have become even-more popular than dividends in recent years. Buybacks support the price of a stock, they’re not taxed, and they help management as much as investors, as stock is increasingly used for compensation. Dividend aristocrats, however, are companies that manage to raise their dividend every year for at least a quarter century. They’re companies you can put in your portfolio and then forget. But the good times can end. When you hear bad news about a dividend stock you own pay attention. The fall, when it comes can be precipitous, and final. A few years ago, General Electric (NYSE: GE ) would have been an obvious member of this list. It had been a member of the Dow Industrials from its founding and had stayed on top of change for generations. But under Jeffrey Immelt it lost the plot.