Dividends Are Rising: 3 Foreign Stocks Boosting Payouts

Key Points

• While U.S. stocks are a comfortable playground for many, foreign dividend stocks can also offer interesting benefits.
• Most stock markets worldwide are doing better than the U.S. market in 2025, adding to the intrigue of foreign dividend stocks. 
• These three stocks are notable dividend raisers this year, all boosting payments by 7% or more.

Dividend-paying stocks come in many flavors that can help satisfy investors' appetite for income. While many focus simply on stocks returning capital in the United States, foreign dividend stocks can offer a worthwhile area for exploration. The topic is especially relevant now, as U.S. stocks have had a shaky start to 2025 compared to their foreign counterparts. This is evident when looking at the year-to-date returns of 41 country-specific ETFs.

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust NYSEARCA: SPY, used to track the performance of the U.S. stock market, has posted unimpressive results so far. Its return ranks as the fifth worst among this group of 41 as of the Mar. 10 close.

Additionally, an analysis from Morningstar highlights how foreign dividend stocks can provide both geographic and sector diversification. U.S. indexes are weighted heavily toward the tech sector at 31%.

Meanwhile, two Morningstar dividend indexes that exclude U.S. stocks have tech weightings around 8% or lower. This means that foreign dividend stocks may serve as a counterweight against the tech-heavy focus of U.S. stocks while also providing income.

Below is a detailed look at three foreign stocks that recently announced notable dividend increases, each aligning with this diversification theme by operating outside the technology sector.

JD.com: Boosts Dividend By +30% After Impressive Quarter

Chinese e-commerce player JD.com NASDAQ: JD has started 2024 off in a strong way, with shares up over 17% as of the Mar. 10 close. The company’s solid Q4, in which it saw revenues grow by over 13%, has helped give management the confidence it needs to raise its dividend.

The company is boosting its payout per American Depository Share by a whopping 32%. The company expects to pay its $1 per ADS dividend on Apr. 29 to shareholders of record on Apr. 8. JD pays a dividend just once a year. This means that this will likely offer the only chance to earn income from this stock in 2025.

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Overall, this new payment gives JD a very solid dividend yield of over 2.4%. The company also returned significant capital in the form of buybacks through 2024, spending $3.6 billion on repurchases. JD has exhausted its buyback program, which was initiated in Mar. 2024. Now, it has the capacity to spend up to $5 billion on buybacks over the next 36 months through a new repurchase program authorized in August.

Brookfield Asset Management: Electrifying its Dividend Yield with a Big Increase in Payments

Brookfield Asset Management NYSE: BAM is a Canadian financial services stock that also provides a jolt to its dividend payments. BAM operates within many parts of the private asset management landscape. It covers areas like renewable energy and private credit investing. It manages over $500 billion in fee-bearing capital.

The company announced a 15% increase in its quarterly dividend. Unfortunately, it's too late for new investors to get in on the first $0.44 payment at this point, as it was available to shareholders of record on Feb. 28.

However, BAM consistently pays the same dividend each quarter within a year, meaning this isn’t the only bite at the apple. 

Now, the stock boasts a sizable indicated dividend yield of 3.7%. Combined with a significant fall in the stock in 2025, the company’s indicated yield now sits tied for its highest level since the stock went public in 2022.

TotalEnergies: Hikes 2025 Dividend, Yield Approaches 6% Mark

French energy stock TotalEnergies NYSE: TTE plans to lift its dividend by over 7.6%. Subject to the approval of shareholders, the company’s final dividend payment of 0.85 euros per ADS will be payable on Jul. 1. The ex-dividend date is Jun. 19. The record date is typically the day after the ex-dividend date, meaning the payment will likely be available to shareholders of record on Jun. 20.

Overall, the company plans to raise its total dividend for 2025 to 3.28 euros per share. This is an increase of 7.2% and is the third year in a row the company has raised dividends by 7% or more.

Based on a Mar. 10 exchange rate of 1.08 euros to 1 USD, the planned payment would be $3.55 per share, a 6.6% increase from 2024. 

Based on these numbers, TotalEnergies ADS would have a hefty dividend yield of 5.8% going forward. The company notes in slide 12 of its earnings presentation that its growth in dividends per share since 2019 beats out most of its biggest competitors.