Altria matched the S&P 500 with a 13% price gain this year, plus a 6.5% dividend yield and 60 raises over 56 years. While TSLA dropped 23% and META fell 10%, MO gained 13%, proving this dividend stalwart outperformed several high-profile tech names. Altria's $2 billion buyback program and zero AI spending exposure position it as a strong defensive hold ahead of any market selloff.
Act now: the analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks — and Apple didn't make the cut. Grab the names FREE today. Altria (NYSE: MO) shares, which have one of the best dividend performances in the S&P 500, have tracked the market this year.
It may be "built" for safety, but investors have gained 13% in price, which matches the S&P 500. Altria has also outperformed many of the megatech stocks that people are supposed to buy for their huge price surges. Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA)is down 23% this year.
Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is up only 2%. Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) stock move up this year is about the same as Altria's. Meta (NASDAQ: META) is down 10%.
Altria, a cigarette company, has no AI exposure. That means the hundreds of billions of dollars several of America's largest tech companies are spending represent a financial risk. If AI explodes, as many investors think it will, the safest safe-haven stocks offer the best protection.
Better, much better, than all of these, Altria has a yield of 6.5%. It has raised its dividend 60 times in the last 56 years. Altria's top brand, which accounts for over 90% of its sales, is Marlboro.
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