The Smartest Dividend Stock to Buy With $1,000 Right Now

Source Motley_fool

Key Points

  • Coca-Cola has increased its annual dividend for 63 consecutive years.

  • Coca-Cola has averaged a dividend yield of around 3% over the past five years.

  • 10 stocks we like better than Coca-Cola ›

Any time you can make money from a stock without relying on its stock price appreciating, it's a good thing. That's why dividend stocks can be a valuable piece of virtually anyone's portfolio. They reward investors for simply holding on to them.

However, not all dividend stocks are alike. Some companies' dividends are at risk of being cut or eliminated because of poor business and financial performance. If you're looking for the smartest dividend stock to buy right now, it'd be one where you don't have to second-guess the stability of its dividend. That's the case with Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO).

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue »

Coca-Cola bottles inside a refrigerator.

Image source: Getty Images.

Coca-Cola is a Dividend King, having increased its annual dividend for at least 50 consecutive years (it's currently at 63 years). That's a title that only a small number of companies hold, and one that shows Coca-Cola's longevity, consistency, and shareholder-friendly nature.

When you invest in Coca-Cola, you know you're investing in one of the world's most thorough businesses. It has a stronghold on the non-alcoholic beverage market, and its products sell regardless of economic conditions. This has been a recipe for its sustained success, and there are no signs of this changing for the foreseeable future.

Coca-Cola's average dividend yield over the past five years has been around 3%. If that average were to continue, a $1,000 investment would pay out $30 annually. That's not yacht-shopping money, but it can pay off over time as it adds to the natural compound effect of investing. Coca-Cola is a stock you don't have to lose sleep over.

Should you invest $1,000 in Coca-Cola right now?

Before you buy stock in Coca-Cola, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Coca-Cola wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $569,871!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,107,298!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 982% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 185% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of November 17, 2025

Stefon Walters has positions in Coca-Cola. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Disclaimer: For information purposes only. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
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