AI is transforming every industry — here are five dividend earners benefitting from it.
Over the past 18 months, I’ve thoroughly investigated artificial intelligence, interacting with it on a daily basis beyond mere reading. This experience has been exhilarating and enlightening. The more I explore, the more I understand the extensive knowledge still to acquire.
One fact is clear: AI will not substitute humans, but will replace those who overlook it.
This holds true for businesses as well. Every organization now claims to adopt AI, whether for automation, analytics, or marketing initiatives. As investors, we recognize that excitement doesn’t yield revenue — profits do.
AI can genuinely boost productivity, reduce expenses, and open up new avenues. However, only the best-performing companies, those already thriving, will translate these advantages into sustained growth.
The Obvious AI Beneficiaries
We are aware of the prominent players in the AI boom: NVIDIA for chips, Alphabet for search, Meta for data and advertising, and OpenAI for seamless device integration. They epitomize AI advancements.
Yet, beyond the intriguing headlines, a handful of established, dividend-increasing firms are capitalizing on this same transformation. They aren’t traditional AI companies — they simply leverage AI to enhance their core operations.
Let’s review five of these firms.
U.S. AI Dividend Prospects
Visa (V): The Data-Driven Tollbooth
Visa ranks among the most undervalued AI entities globally. It processes over $14 trillion in payments each year and employs AI to analyze over 500 million transactions daily, identifying fraudulent activities faster than any human could.
AI is crucial to its network’s speed and reliability. Each transaction enriches Visa’s data framework, enhancing fraud detection and approval accuracy. This AI foundation will soon support new consumer tools like AI shopping assistants, enabling instant, secure payments through messaging platforms such as ChatGPT.
From an investment perspective, Visa’s business model remains among the most robust globally — a digital tollbooth collecting a fee on every transaction within its network. Its dividend triangle tells a compelling story: steady revenue increases, double-digit EPS growth, and regular dividend hikes for over ten years.
Mastercard (MA): Accelerating Smarter, Faster, and Securely
If Visa is the tollbooth, Mastercard is the express lane beside it. The company oversees trillions in transactions across more than 200 nations, harnessing AI for fraud detection, cybersecurity, and optimizing cross-border payments.
Mastercard’s strength lies in its network effect — merchants and consumers are intricately woven into its ecosystem, making it challenging for newcomers to enter the market. AI further cements this advantage. The company now utilizes AI-driven analytics and security solutions to assist clients in fraud detection and prevention in real-time.
In addition to payments, Mastercard is investing in AI-enhanced financial services