Hey, Zach here.
Every month since May 2020, I've shared an update on my personal dividend growth portfolio. You've watched this account grow from $30,000 to over $336,000.
Today's update has everything: my new buys, my biggest dividend month ever coming in August, and a long-term forecast of where this portfolio compounds to.
But first, my best investment of 2026. Last year, that title went to Alphabet: I bought about $25,000 at a $162 cost basis during the April tariff selloff, and it's up 114% since.
This year's best investment isn't a stock.
The Key Story
How I Secretly Made My Best Investment of 2026
The Next Generation of DividendData.com Is Live
For the past 3 months, I've been quietly rebuilding DividendData.com from scratch. Modern tech stack, built to keep getting better for years to come. It launched today, and it's the biggest upgrade in the site's history.
Here's what you need to know:
Current members: you keep your exact price — I reward loyalty. Just create your account on the new site with the same email and your subscription, portfolio, and watchlist sync automatically.
New members: there's a ton you can try completely free. And to celebrate launch, there's a Founding Member deal: 50% off the annual plan, locked in for life.
30-day money-back guarantee. Zero risk in trying it.
I built this as the ultimate tool for my own investing strategy, and I honestly think there's a strong argument it's now the best stock research website on the internet. Don't believe me? Try it out.
Alright, back to investing.
Portfolio Update: $336K, Roughly Flat Since June
The market dipped hard mid-period and rebounded this past week.
The moves I made:
Bought NVIDIA (NVDA) now my largest position overall when you count my Roth IRA, where it's my only holding. Funded partly by selling some higher-cost Microsoft (MSFT) shares (a small tax-loss offset against gains I took earlier this year) and a trim of Altria (MO). The case: EPS up 83% year-over-year, $119B of trailing free cash flow (up 65%), a forward P/E of 22.5, and the stock trading 47% below its 5-year median multiple. Earnings growth is far outpacing the stock.
Trimmed Altria at ~$74. I analyze MO purely as a dividend stock, and the new Yield Analyzer shows it trading at its lowest yield in 5 years. Historically, that's the worst time to add.
Trimmed Exxon (XOM) slightly at a 359% total return. Great performer, but there are better opportunities right now.
Top holdings: Hess Midstream (HESM) remains #1 at $102,000 market value, paying me almost $8,000/year. Microsoft (MSFT) #2 at $84,000, up 18.8% overall despite being down 16.7% YTD.
The Income: My Biggest Dividend Month Ever Is Coming
Next 12 months projected: $12,500 in dividends. That's about $1,000 a month on average, with zero new contributions or dividend growth assumed. Conservative on purpose.
August: $2,340. My highest single month ever. I love the big months; that's where reinvestment compounds fastest.
2026 so far: $6,810. Nearly a full year's worth of last year's dividends, and we're only 55% through the year.
All-time tracked: $29,300.
Most recent payment: Altria (MO), $423.83, fully reinvested.
The new Income Calendar projects all of this month by month, including forward-looking estimates for stocks that haven't even declared yet (ex-dates, payment dates, estimated amounts). And you can backfill your full dividend history by CSV or one by one, so your progression chart tells the whole story.
The Forecast: Why We Do This
The new Forecast tab prefills a dividend snowball calculator with your actual holdings. Mine shows a weighted dividend growth rate of 11.3% across the portfolio.
My inputs: $2,000 a month in contributions, dividends reinvested, goals of $10,000 a month in dividend income and a $10M portfolio. Base case with contributions: income goal hit in year 14, value goal in year 23 (2049). I'd personally dial the dividend growth down to ~6% to be safe. It pushes the dates out, but the destination holds.
There's a stat that ~99% of Warren Buffett's net worth came after age 55. Time is the whole game. The first year or two you barely see results. I'm six years in, and the compounding is only starting to show. That's exactly why I built the forecast tool: it keeps you anchored to the why.
One Last Thing
If a better tool helps you find companies that earn you even 1% more per year, or helps you avoid one dividend cut, that compounds into a life-changing difference over decades. That's what I built this for.
50% off annual for Founding Members, launch window only. 30-day money-back guarantee.
See you on the new Terminal,
Zach
P.S. There's a dark mode now. Some of you are going to love that. Reply and tell me: dark or light?
How did you like today’s newsletter?
📅 Keep Investing. Stay informed.
– Zach
Founder, Dividend Data
P.S. Questions or suggestions? Reply to this email—I'd love your feedback!
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Disclaimer: Dividend Dividend (Dividend Data LLC) is not a professional financial service. All materials released from Dividend Data (Dividend Data LLC) are for educational and entertainment purposes. Dividend Data (Dividend Data LLC) is not a replacement for a professional's opinion. Contributors to the Dividend Data (Dividend Data LLC) might have equities mentioned in the newsletter