When I first considered officetels and commercial property, my goal was to create steady rental income.
Later I discovered REITs through Realty Income, and my attention broadened to PepsiCo (PEP), a dividend king, and HP Inc. (HPQ), a dividend growth stock. Thinking about dividends covering my phone bill also led me to think about inflation and borrowing risks.
Through those experiences, I found myself wanting a consistent way to compare companies, keep records, and notice when their prices might deserve closer attention.
Beyond the highest dividend yield
Initially, a high dividend yield looked appealing on its own. But a yield can rise because a share price has fallen dramatically, not because the company has raised its dividend.
Now I want to consider not just yield, but years of consecutive increases, recent dividend growth, profits and free cash flow, debt and financing costs, and the share price.
Those figures cannot reveal the precise bottom. Nor should a sharp decline alone be a reason to buy.
Yet if a fundamentally sound company falls because of temporary market concerns, could that be an opportunity for a long-term investor? I want to keep examining that question instead of acting on a single number.
A starting list of dividend-paying companies
I want to follow companies with different dividend histories, including those I have already studied. The following are examples for research and monitoring, not a declaration that they are attractive purchases today. Streaks and index memberships can change.
| Group | Stock | Why I would watch it |
|---|---|---|
| Dividend king | PEP | Consumer staples; 54 consecutive annual dividend increases as of 2026 |
| Dividend king | KO | Beverages; 64 consecutive increases as of 2026 |
| Dividend king | PG | Household products; 70 consecutive increases as of 2026 |
| Dividend aristocrat | CAT | Industrials; 32 consecutive increases as of 2026 |
| Dividend growth | HPQ | Recent dividend growth, free cash flow and debt to monitor |
| REIT and dividend growth | O (Realty Income) | Monthly income, rental exposure and sensitivity to financing costs |
The S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats index generally focuses on members with at least 25 consecutive annual dividend increases. Dividend kings are commonly defined by 50 or more years of increases. These are different classification rules and neither label by itself guarantees investment safety.
Official S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats methodology overview
Dividend ETFs as another area to follow
An ETF offers exposure to a portfolio of stocks, but dividend-focused ETFs can have very different objectives and distribution sources.
| Style | ETF | What I would examine |
|---|---|---|
| Dividend aristocrats | NOBL | Exposure to the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats index |
| Dividend quality | SCHD | Index emphasizing dividends and fundamental financial quality |
| Dividend appreciation | VIG | Stocks with a record of increasing dividends |
| Dividend growth | DGRO | U.S. dividend growth stock exposure |
| Options income | JEPI | Large-cap equities and options strategy seeking monthly distributions |
| Options income | JEPQ | Nasdaq-focused equities and options strategy seeking monthly distributions |
For funds such as JEPI and JEPQ, distributions are not solely ordinary company dividends. An options strategy may generate premium income, while surrendering some potential market upside.
So a high distribution rate is not the same as high dividend growth or high total return. I would want to look at the sustainability of payments and the full result after changes in value, costs, and taxes.
These tables are only a beginning. I hope eventually to survey dividend kings and aristocrats more broadly, while also discovering other dividend growth companies and major ETFs worth monitoring.
A tool to notice opportunities, not pronounce perfect entry points
As my watchlist grew, I found it harder to keep up with each company's changing circumstances.
One company's price may fall and push up its trailing dividend yield. Another may raise its dividend. A third might look superficially attractive because profits are deteriorating and the dividend is at risk.
I want to see how a stock's price and dividend yield compare with its own history, whether its dividend is still growing, and what has changed in the company's ability to fund it.
I would not want a simplistic buy signal based only on proximity to a 52-week low. I need to understand both why the price has fallen and whether the cash flow supporting the dividend remains sound.
When an investment matches the criteria I care about, I would like to save it to a watchlist and record the reasoning behind a possible purchase. Rather than predicting the exact bottom, I want to identify carefully considered opportunities to build positions over time.
Why I began imagining ONSEMO INVEST
My interests have moved from officetels and storefronts to REITs, Realty Income, dividend kings, PepsiCo, and HPQ.
At each step I considered more than yield: taxes, vacancies, legal rights, liquidity, dividend sustainability, interest rates, and inflation.
Now I want to examine those questions with data.
How much dividend income do my holdings generate? What percentage of recurring bills could that income cover? What changes if dividends are cut or borrowing costs increase?
I would also like to compare a dividend stock's current price and yield with its own history.
This is why I want to build ONSEMO INVEST, which remains a project in the planning stage. Rather than claiming to predict the best trades or guarantee high returns, I want a tool that helps me record, examine, and revisit my investment decisions.
I do not assume every judgment in this series will remain correct. My views may change, and I want to record those changes too.
The question that began with my search for rental property remains:
How much can the assets I own reduce the financial burden of everyday life?
And now there is a second question:
How long can that cash flow endure, and can it grow?