Three Dividend Setups Worth Your Attention

A Bakken pipeline payout, an aircraft leasing raise, and a discounted custody bank aristocrat.

August 05, 2026

One name goes ex-dividend tomorrow, so the clock is already ticking if you want the next check. The other two give you a growing cyclical payout and a cheaper way into a crowded corner of banking. Here is how you sort through the raises, the cuts, and the upcoming payers.

America’s AI Buildout (Sponsored)

Taiwan Semiconductor just posted strong earnings and raised its full-year growth outlook above 40%.

But the bigger story may be its expanding U.S. investment. The chipmaker is reportedly adding another $100 billion to the $165 billion it already committed to American manufacturing.

That is $265 billion moving into U.S. chip infrastructure as the AI race accelerates.

One analyst believes this spending points to a much larger government-backed AI project now taking shape, and he has identified one little-known company that could be positioned directly in its path.

See the company positioned for America’s next AI buildout.

Telecom

T-Mobile Is Preparing for a Wireless Fight That Extends Beyond Cell Towers

T-Mobile US (NASDAQ: TMUS) is facing a major new competitive threat after SpaceX announced plans to build a land-based mobile network alongside its Starlink satellite service.

The proposed network would use cell towers and smaller local equipment to compete directly for customers currently served by T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon.

SpaceX already has 12 million Starlink subscribers and has spent billions of dollars acquiring wireless spectrum.

Building a full national mobile service will require more infrastructure and regulatory approvals, but the company has now made its long-term competitive direction clear.

T-Mobile’s Network Lead Gets Challenged

T-Mobile built much of its recent momentum by offering wider 5G coverage, simpler pricing, and an aggressive alternative to the older carriers. SpaceX is now trying to attack that position by combining satellite reach with a future ground network.

Satellite Strategy Moves Up the Agenda

T-Mobile has already joined AT&T and Verizon in a partnership designed to broaden satellite-based coverage. SpaceX’s plans make that effort more important because satellite connectivity is moving closer to the center of the wireless business.

If SpaceX builds the required infrastructure, T-Mobile enters a fight against a rival with spectrum, satellite reach, and an established consumer base.

The company now has to protect its growth by strengthening coverage, pricing, and customer loyalty before the next wireless network fully arrives.

TMUS currently trades at $172 and pays a dividend of $4.08 per share, a yield of 2.37%.

Energy Infrastructure

A Major Cost Reset Puts Dominion at the Center of Data Center Growth

Dominion Energy (NYSE: D) will develop a new rate structure that directly assigns more transmission infrastructure costs to data centers and other large power users.

Dominion currently has 203 transmission projects in its grid connection pipeline.

The new approach is designed to link more of those costs directly to the large customers whose facilities create the need for additional infrastructure, rather than spreading the full burden across homes and small businesses.

Data Centers Change the Customer Base

Northern Virginia has become one of the world’s largest data center markets, giving Dominion access to enormous new electricity demand. Serving those customers also requires expensive grid upgrades that traditional household rates were never designed to absorb.

Look at Dominion’s project pipeline, and you find a utility being reshaped by a new class of customer. Data centers are no longer a side market; they are becoming central to how the company plans and finances future growth.

Households Get a Stronger Cost Shield

Dominion had sought to recover about $1.5 billion in transmission spending. The new structure is intended to prevent regular customers from carrying infrastructure costs created mainly by large commercial developments.

Put your focus on customer trust. Dominion can continue serving the data center expansion while creating a clearer separation between household bills and the cost of connecting massive power users.

The move strengthens the company’s position at the center of the data center boom while making future growth more accountable.

D currently trades at $68 and pays a dividend of $2.67 per share, a yield of 3.91%.

The Wealth Strategy (Sponsored)

His official salary? $400,000 a year.

Yet his returns point to something far bigger: Up to $250,000 per month… from just one place.

It’s not property. It’s not equities.

So what’s really generating this kind of income — and why is it gaining traction now?

Healthcare

AbbVie Just Put $10 Billion Behind Its Next Major Growth Move

AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) is issuing $10 billion in investment-grade bonds to help fund its planned acquisition of Apogee Therapeutics.

The financing shows that the company is moving beyond announcing the takeover and putting the capital in place to complete one of its largest recent growth moves.

The deal strengthens AbbVie’s push to add new medicines and reduce its dependence on a small group of established products.

Raising nearly the full purchase price through debt also allows the company to protect more of its existing cash for operations, research, and other priorities.

The Acquisition Moves Closer

Large takeovers require more than an agreement between two companies. Financing the transaction is one of the most important steps, and AbbVie’s $10 billion bond sale gives the company a clear route toward closing.

Measure the commitment in dollars, and you get the scale of AbbVie’s ambition. The company is spending heavily to secure future growth rather than waiting for its current portfolio to lose momentum.

Future Growth Gets Funded Today

The bond issuance confirms how central Apogee has become to AbbVie’s expansion strategy. It also shows that the company remains willing to use its size and access to capital to buy promising growth assets.

Once the transaction closes, you will have an AbbVie that has committed both strategy and financing to its next pipeline push. The $10 billion raise turns the acquisition from a headline into a fully funded company move.

ABBV currently trades at $246 and pays a dividend of $6.92 per share, a yield of 2.80%.

Dividend Stocks Worth Watching

Hess Midstream (NYSE: HESM). The midstream MLP goes ex-dividend on August 6, so you need to own it by tomorrow if you want the next check. Yield sits around 7.7% and the payout has climbed steadily as Bakken volumes grow.

Long-term contracts with the parent shield this from most commodity price swings, which is exactly what you want out of a midstream name.

If you're building an income sleeve and don't already own a Bakken-levered midstream, this is one of the cleaner ways to get exposure without wearing full commodity risk. Just be aware of the K-1 come tax season.

FTAI Aviation (NASDAQ: FTAI). The aircraft leasing and engine parts play filed an 8-K noting a dividend increase last week. FTAI is riding a global shortage of narrow-body engine capacity, and its Module Factory business keeps taking share from OEM shops.

If you want cyclical exposure with a growing payout, this is worth a look on any dip. The yield isn't the reason to own it. The growth in the payout is. Lease rates are still climbing off the pandemic trough, and FTAI's engine business has the highest margins in its stack.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ: NTRS). The Chicago-based wealth and asset manager declared its regular quarterly on August 3. NTRS trades at a discount to bigger custody peers, and every basis point of rate cuts eases the pressure on its deposit costs.

A dividend aristocrat with room for multiple expansion if fee-based revenue keeps growing at a mid-single-digit clip. If you already own State Street or BK, you probably don't need this. If you don't own a custody bank yet, NTRS is the cheaper, less-crowded entry point.

Dividend Increases

BR: Broadridge lifted its quarterly 12% to $1.09 per share, payable October 5. 

MSBI: Midland States Bancorp bumped its quarterly 3.1% to $0.33 per share, payable August 21. 

MCS: Marcus Corp lifted its quarterly 12.5% to $0.09 per share.

Dividend Decreases

Energean slashed its Q1 dividend from $0.30 per share to $0.10, a two-thirds cut, after an Israel gas shutdown hit output. 

Telus (NYSE: TU) reset its dividend alongside its Q2 update, and the stock took a double-digit hit on the news.

See Now (Sponsored)

Elon Musk spent millions to speak directly to 125 million Americans during the year’s biggest television event.

Most viewers moved on.

But former hedge fund manager Whitney Tilson believes Musk revealed a major financial shift hiding in plain sight.

See Elon’s warning and what Tilson says investors should do next.

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Upcoming Dividend Payers

CEG: Constellation Energy pays $0.4265 per share on September 4, record date August 18. 

Chemours: $0.0875 per share payable September 15, record date August 14. 

VTRS: Viatris pays $0.12 per share as declared August 3.

Everything Else

  • 🚗 GM and a Chinese automaker are extending their partnership despite rising U.S.-China tensions, underscoring how difficult it is to unwind global auto supply chains.

  • 🇮🇳 India’s central bank kept policy in focus as inflation risks and the Iran conflict complicated the outlook for interest rates.

  • 🐻 Michael Burry is betting against the market rally, warning that stocks may be approaching a major top.

  • 🏗️ Fed official Jeff Schmid said the financing behind the AI buildout deserves closer attention as spending and leverage continue to scale rapidly.

  • ⚖️ OpenAI agreed to pay $32 million to resolve a U.S. probe into its hiring of foreign workers, adding another layer of regulatory scrutiny.

That’s all for today’s edition of the Dividend Brief.

Thanks for reading, and if you have any feedback or dividend stocks you want me to take a look at, just reply to this email!

—Noah Zelvis
DividendBrief.com