Right then. Late 2025 and the early days of 2026 saw a bit of a reshuffle in my portfolio. Not a dramatic one, mind you. More of a… subtle recalibration in the face of existential market forces. I increased my stakes in three dividend stocks. Why? Well, that’s a surprisingly difficult question to answer without delving into the fundamental improbability of everything, but I’ll give it a go.
Adding More of a Good Thing (Or, Why Not?)
Brookfield Renewable Partners (BEP 0.07%). A solid name, really. They’re in the renewable energy business, which is, if you think about it, trying to recapture energy that’s already been used. A bit like trying to un-eat a biscuit, but on a grand, industrial scale. They do the usual things – hydro, solar, wind – but they’ve also moved into energy storage and, crucially, nuclear power. They own 50% of Westinghouse, which is, as far as I can tell, involved in the fascinating and slightly terrifying business of splitting atoms.
At this point, Brookfield Renewable has a toehold in pretty much every clean energy segment going. It’s a one-stop shop for anyone looking to power their world without, you know, actively destroying it. They’ve even got deals with Microsoft and Google to help power those companies’ AI data centers. Which is ironic, really. Building increasingly complex artificial intelligence to solve problems created by increasingly complex… well, everything. Still, they offer a 5% yield, which is… agreeable. (Yields, of course, are merely a temporary respite from the inevitable heat death of the universe, but let’s not dwell on that.)
Consumer Staples: A Story of Mild Discomfort
Consumers, it seems, are tightening their belts and deciding to eat slightly healthier things. This has been, shall we say, suboptimal for the consumer staples sector. It’s a bit like trying to sell umbrellas during a drought. I used this market dynamic to harvest some losses in late 2025, offsetting gains elsewhere. I sold Hormel Foods (HRL +2.76%) and Clorox (CLX +1.56%). It felt… necessary. (The universe, after all, demands balance. Even if it achieves it through the medium of processed meats and cleaning products.)
But then, in early 2026, I bought them both back. And didn’t just recreate my positions, I increased them. Hormel is an industry-leading protein maker looking to return to growth mode. A new CEO and restructuring effort are likely to help. Clorox is also working on a comeback, and the planned acquisition of Gojo (owner of Purell) should give it a boost. (One can never have too much hand sanitizer, especially when contemplating the sheer number of surfaces humans touch on a daily basis.)
Hormel has a historically high 4.7% yield, while Clorox has a historically high 4.5% yield. Both have increased their dividends for decades. (Which is reassuring, in a fundamentally meaningless way.)
Three Dividend Stocks to… Exist With
So, I’ve piled into Brookfield Renewable, Hormel, and Clorox for 2026. But the real attraction is longer-term. If you’re the sort of person who likes to buy and hold (a surprisingly rare breed, these days), you might want to add these high-yielders to your portfolio, too. So you can collect reliable dividends for years to come. Or, at least, until the sun expands and engulfs the Earth. Whichever comes first.
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2026-02-04 20:02