The Best Dividend Stocks to Buy and Hold Forever

Top consumer brands with a long history of paying dividends are offering attractive yields right now. These rock-solid companies can help boost your passive income in 2026, with the potential for that income stream to grow over time.

Here's why Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) and Pepsico (NASDAQ: PEP) are two of the best dividend stocks to buy now and hold for a lifetime.

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Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola's brand strength, 63-year dividend growth streak, and economic resilience easily make it one of the best dividend stocks to buy and hold for the long term.

Its iconic brand and global distribution give the company a solid advantage in a competitive marketplace. Its wide moat is evidenced by its pricing power and market share gains. This allows Coca-Cola to raise prices without experiencing a significant dip in demand. It regularly reports higher revenue growth than unit case volume, driven in part by higher selling prices. In the third quarter, its unit case volume grew just 1% year over year, but overall adjusted (non-GAAP) revenue rose 6%.

Coca-Cola's brand power leads to high margins and growing free cash flow to fund its dividend. Its current quarterly dividend payment of $0.51, or $2.04 annualized, represents about two-thirds of its trailing earnings and yields 2.60%. This dividend payment should grow in lock step with earnings, which analysts expect to grow at a 6% annualized rate over the long term, making Coca-Cola a solid income investment.

Pepsico

Pepsico is another top consumer brand that stands out as a quality dividend growth stock. It has paid dividends for 60 consecutive years. This extensive record reflects one of the strongest consumer brand portfolios, including Lay's, Gatorade, Doritos, and Pepsi.

Like Coca-Cola, Pepsico benefits from a globally diversified distribution network. Consumer brands have had a challenging couple of years amid inflation and other macroeconomic headwinds, but PepsiCo has navigated similar challenges throughout its multi-decade history. The company is starting to round the corner, as revenue grew by more than 5% year over year, accelerating from the previous quarter. It also notched a solid 11% increase in adjusted earnings per share.

Pepsico is investing to make its products more affordable through productivity gains, while investing in healthier products to mitigate risks of shifting consumer preferences. Its recent fourth-quarter growth shows some of these initiatives bearing fruit. It just announced a 4% increase to its annualized dividend per share.

The company plans to pay $5.92 in dividends per share over the next year. PepsiCo's forward dividend yield is now 3.52%. This represents 69% of analysts' 2026 earnings estimate. For a company with a consistent operating history and a half-century record of dividend increases, that is an attractive proposition for income investors.

John Ballard has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.