Thursday Edition: UNH yields 2.3% today — at 10.4% annual growth, your income won't stay there

I ran the math forward: that $234 a year on $10,000 becomes roughly $384 by 2031 at UNH's current growth rate — without adding a single dollar.  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Read online 💰 Dividend Dispatch Income is everywhere. I find it. Thursday, September 03, 2026·6 min read Today's Theme UnitedHealth yields 2.3% today. At 10.4% annual growth, it won't stay there. Most people scroll right past a 2.3% yield. I get it — when you can get 10% from a BDC (a company that lends money to mid-size businesses), why bother with $234 a year on $10,000? Here's why I care: UnitedHealth has grown that dividend at 10.4% per year for the last five years. At that pace, your $234 this year becomes roughly $384 by 2031 — without investing another dollar. Today I've got two growth names — UNH and Amphenol, which just split 2-for-1 yesterday — plus a hospital REIT that went the other direction: a 69% dividend cut. Let's get into it.       He Woke Up 79% Richer It's the strangest way I know to make money in gold… You go to bed owning a small miner, and overnight, a major announces it's buying the company. No chart to time, no exit to nail — your shares simply reprice while you sleep. One quarter of my portfolio has already been acquired by the major gold miners in the space, with overnight pops as high as 79%. Best of all… the wave of buyouts has barely started. Go here to see who I think gets bought next.       🚀 Dividend Growth Stars Fast-rising income builders UNH17 straight years of raises — and the payout ratio says there's more coming UnitedHealth Group is the largest health insurer in the United States. They also run Optum, which handles pharmacy benefits, data analytics, and care delivery for hospitals. It's a giant — and a quiet dividend machine. Here's what I love about UNH: $9.28 per share annually, paid quarterly at $2.32. The 5-year compound annual growth rate — meaning how fast the dividend has grown on average each year — is 10.4%. Seventeen consecutive raises. And the payout ratio (what percentage of earnings goes to dividends) is about 57%. That's a comfortable cushion. I start worrying above 75%. The timely part: UNH goes ex-dividend on September 14. You need to own shares before that date to get the next $2.32 payment. Now the risk. UNH trades at about 25 times earnings — not cheap. And the company has faced regulatory scrutiny over its Optum unit. Any political pressure on healthcare costs could weigh on the stock price, even if the dividend keeps climbing. I own this one. But I went in knowing it's a growth-and-hold name, not a bargain. Yield: 2.3% $10K invested = $234/yr Paid: Quarterly       Forget Mag7 – this is where smart money is flowing A new type of AI called "Accelerated AI" is about to take the world by storm… And stocks connected to it are already breaking out: 133%… 210%… and even 320% or more just in the last few months. But it's just getting started… If you want to learn more about "Accelerated AI" – and get name and ticker of the #1 pick to play this opportunity… Click here for more details. (No purchase necessary.)       APHAmphenol just split 2-for-1 yesterday — here's what that means for your dividend Amphenol makes connectors and sensors — the physical pieces that link electronics together. Fiber optic cables, circuit board connectors, sensors for cars, data centers, military systems. They're in everything. And the AI infrastructure buildout has sent demand through the roof. Yesterday APH completed a 2-for-1 stock split. If you owned 100 shares at $158, you now own 200 shares at roughly $79. Here's what people always ask me: does my dividend change? Yes and no. Your per-share dividend drops in half — from about $0.25 to $0.125 per quarter. But you own twice as many shares. Total income stays exactly the same. Think of it like cutting a pizza into more slices — you still have the same amount of pizza. What makes APH a growth star isn't the yield — at 0.63%, it's tiny. It's the trajectory. They've raised the dividend 15 years in a row at a compound rate of roughly 20% per year. Your $63 a year on $10,000 today could become about $157 in five years at that pace. The risk: APH trades at nearly 40 times earnings. If AI spending slows or the cycle turns, this stock could pull back hard. But the dividend has grown through every downturn so far — including 2020. Yield: 0.63% $10K invested = $63/yr Paid: Quarterly 🛡️ Safety & Watchlist Reliable picks + red flags Safe Pick ITW62 straight years of raises — and they just announced number 63 Illinois Tool Works makes welding equipment, auto parts, food equipment, test instruments, and specialty polymers. They're a classic industrial conglomerate, but what sets them apart is something called the 80/20 process — they focus 80% of resources on the 20% of products that generate the most profit. It works. ITW just announced a 7% dividend increase to $1.72 per quarter — up from $1.61. That's 62 consecutive years of annual raises, putting them well past the 50-year threshold for a Dividend King (a company that's raised its payout every single year for at least five decades). The new rate takes effect with the Q4 payment, and the stock goes ex-dividend on September 30. The forward yield is 2.4%, and $10,000 gets you $244 a year. Not flashy — but ITW has nearly tripled its dividend since 2016. The payout ratio sits at 57%, and Q2 2026 earnings beat expectations. This is the kind of name that lets me sleep at night. Yield: 2.4% $10K invested = $244/yr Paid: Quarterly Red Flag MPT8.7% yield from a hospital REIT that's cut its payout 69% Medical Properties Trust owns hospital buildings and leases them back to operators under long-term net leases — where the tenant pays taxes, insurance, and maintenance. Sounds stable. It was, until their biggest tenant, Steward Health Care, went bankrupt in 2024. Since then, MPT has cut its quarterly dividend from $0.29 to $0.15, and then again to $0.09. That's a 69% reduction. The stock changed its ticker from MPW to MPT earlier this year, but a new name doesn't fix the balance sheet. The company posted a net loss in Q2 2026, carries $9.7 billion in total debt, of which they're actively restructuring $2.4 billion, and tenant credit quality remains a real concern. The stock sits at $4.12. The yield reads 8.7%. I know that number is tempting — that's $870 a year on $10,000. But here's the thing — the entire reason the yield is 8.7% is that the stock has cratered from over $20. A stock that drops 80% while slashing its dividend isn't giving you income. It's burning your capital. I would not own this. 📋 The Extra Yield This week's calendars, screens & answers Don't miss these ex-dates: UNH goes ex-dividend September 14 at $2.32 per share (2.3% yield, 17-year streak). ITW goes ex-dividend September 30 at $1.72 per share — the first payment at the new, higher rate after the 7% raise. I ran a screen this morning: Companies with 15+ consecutive years of dividend raises AND payout ratios under 30%. The standouts: Visa (V) at 22%, Mastercard (MA) at 18%, and Amphenol (APH) at 20%. All three are growing dividends at 15%+ per year. Low payout ratios mean they have years of room to keep raising. Someone asked me: "Why care about dividend growth when the yield is under 1%?" Because APH at 20% annual growth turns $63 into $157 in five years. MPT started at $1,160 a year on $10K and is now paying $360 after two cuts. The trajectory matters more than the snapshot. The Dispatch Today's lineup: UnitedHealth and Amphenol for dividend growth — two names that are compounding their payouts at 10.4% and 20% a year. Illinois Tool Works for safety — 62 years of raises and counting. And Medical Properties Trust as the red flag I'd steer clear of. Tomorrow's Friday — I'll pull together the best pick from each section this week and an expanded Extra Yield. See you then. — Charlie 💰 Dividend Dispatch The High Yield · Aristocrats · Growth Stars · The Weird Yield · Safety   Update your email preferences or unsubscribe here © 2026 Dividend Dispatch by Media Miami LLC 1712 Pioneer Avenue Suite 500 Cheyenne, WY 82001, United States