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Special Report
Giants Costco, Sanofi, and SAP Raise Dividends by Over 10%Reported by Leo Miller. Published: 4/28/2026. 
Key Points
- Costco, Sanofi, and SAP each raised their dividends by more than 10%, signaling continued capital return commitments despite varied stock performance.
- After a rare annual decline in 2025, Costco is up more than 15% in 2026.
- Software giant SAP is now trading near its three-year low forward price-to-earnings ratio amid an AI-driven sell-off.
- Special Report: Have $500? Invest in Elon’s AI Masterplan
Several stocks with market capitalizations above $100 billion recently made notable dividend announcements. These names are among the largest in their industries and, despite widely differing performance, continue to honor their commitments to return capital to shareholders. Costco Announces 13% Dividend Boost Amid Strong Start to 2026First up is Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST)Walmart (NASDAQ: WMT) is larger in the sector.
After a down year in 2025—when Costco delivered a total loss of nearly 5%—the stock has come roaring back in 2026. That 2025 decline marked only the sixth negative annual return for COST since 1994, a strong record given the stock’s positive returns in more than 80% of the past 32 years. This year the stock has delivered a total return exceeding 15%, helped by multiple strong monthly sales reports. Sales rose 9.3% year over year (YOY) in January and 11.3% YOY in the five weeks ended April 5. Costco has also benefited from a market-wide rotation into consumer staples. Amid that strong start, Costco announced a 13% dividend increase. The company’s quarterly dividend will rise to $1.47, payable on May 15 to shareholders of record as of the May 1 close, giving Costco an indicated yield near 0.6%. While the yield is modest, Costco has a history of sizable raises—the annualized five-year dividend growth rate is 12.75%. High-Yield Sanofi Boosts Dividend After Mixed 2025Next is Sanofi (NASDAQ: SNY), one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies. Sanofi is among only 15 pharma and biotech names with market caps above $100 billion. SNY shares have been range-bound for an extended period, posting a total loss of more than 10% over the past five years. Even though Dupixent grew about 25% in 2025, a series of disappointing pipeline readouts pressured the stock. The company recently appointed Belén Garijo as CEO, who aims to reinvigorate Sanofi’s innovation pipeline and secure another blockbuster beyond Dupixent. Dupixent accounted for nearly 40% of sales last quarter, underscoring the need for greater product diversification. Meanwhile, Sanofi continues to return capital to shareholders. The company increased its dividend to $2.42 per depository receipt—a roughly 19% rise in U.S. dollar terms, boosted in part by a stronger euro. Because France withholds tax on dividends paid abroad and depositary fees also apply, the effective yield to U.S. holders ranges from roughly 4.7% gross to about 3.5% net after withholdings and fees. Sanofi will make the annual payment on June 3 to shareholders of record as of the May 4 close. The company has a long history of raising payouts, having increased its dividend for 31 consecutive years through 2025. AI Pushes Down SAP, Dividend Moves Up Amid Strong EarningsFinally, global software giant SAP (NYSE: SAP) has seen significant volatility. With a market capitalization near $400 billion, SAP ranks among the world’s largest software companies, but the stock has come under pressure lately. SAP is down more than 25% in 2026 and over 40% from its 52-week high. The AI-driven software sell-off in late January and early February hit the stock especially hard, pushing its forward price-to-earnings ratio to roughly 20x—near a three-year low. Still, the shares rallied about 7.4% after SAP’s latest earnings report, which beat adjusted EPS estimates while slightly missing on revenue. Cloud revenue grew 27% and current cloud backlog rose 25%, signaling solid demand ahead, and operating margin expanded by roughly 275 basis points to 30%. SAP also raised its dividend per depository receipt to about $2.93, an increase of roughly 15% in U.S. dollar terms. After German withholding tax and depositary fees, the net yield to U.S. holders is approximately 1.2%–1.4%. The annual dividend will be paid on May 15 to shareholders of record as of the May 5 close. Multiple Analysts Eye $1,100 for Steady-Eddy CostcoCostco has received several price-target upgrades in April, with many analysts suggesting the stock could top $1,100. April updates average about $1,074, modestly above the MarketBeat consensus near $1,046—implying roughly 5% upside. That potential upside is tempered by Costco’s low volatility—analyst targets typically don’t stray far from the stock’s actual price. Still, the company has delivered a total return above 100% over the past three years. |
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