Regular dividend increases each year, even during recessions, are critical for dividend growth investors. This makes the Dividend Champions a great source of stocks that can provide long-term passive income. The Dividend Champions have each increased their dividends for at least 25 consecutive years.

This article will list 3 Dividend Champions that have high dividend growth rates expected for the future, making them appealing for long-term dividend compounding.

Badger Meter (BMI)

Badger Meter was founded in 1905 in Milwaukee, WI. The company’s first product was a “frost proof” water meter. Today, Badger Meter manufactures and markets meters and valves that are used to measure and control the flow of liquids, such as water, oil and various chemicals.

The company’s products are also used to control the flow of air and other gases. Badger Meter generates ~$925 million in annual revenues.

On April 17th, 2025, Badger Meter reported first quarter earnings results for the period ending March 31st, 2025. For the quarter, revenue grew 13.25% to $222.2 million, which beat estimates by $1.44 million. Earnings-per-share of $1.30 compared favorably to earnings-per-share of $0.99 in the prior year and was $0.27 better than expected.

The utility water business grew 16% for the quarter, partially due to an acquisition. Excluding this, sales were up 12%. As with prior periods, this growth was led by higher demand for ORION Cellular endpoint, E-Series Ultrasonic meters, and BEACON Software as a Service.

Revenue for flow instrumentation products grew 5% year-over-year as gains in the water-focused end markets were once again offset by deemphasized applications globally.

BMI has increased its dividend for 32 consecutive years.

Becton Dickinson & Co. (BDX)

Becton, Dickinson & Co., or BD, is a global leader in the medical supply industry. The company was founded in 1897 and has 75,000 employees across 190 countries. The company generates almost $22 billion in annual revenue, with approximately 43% of revenues coming from outside of the U.S. BD is composed of three segments. 

Products sold by the Medical Division include needles for drug delivery systems, and surgical blades. The Life Sciences division provides products for the collection and transportation of diagnostic specimens. The Intervention segment includes several of the products produced by what used to be Bard. 

BDX continues to generate growth this year, even in an uncertain economic climate. In the 2025 first quarter, revenue grew 4.5% to $5.3 billion. On a currency neutral basis, revenue increased 6%. Adjusted earnings-per-share of $3.36 compared favorably to $3.17 in the prior year and was $0.07 above estimates. 

For the quarter, U.S. grew 7% while international was up 1.2% on a reported basis. Excluding currency exchange, international revenue was higher by 4.8%. Organic growth was up 0.7% for the period. The Medical segment grew 3.6% organically to $2.76 billion, due to continued gains in Mediation Management Solutions, Medication Delivery Solutions, and Pharmaceutical Systems. 

BD showed that it can perform well in less-than-ideal economic conditions during the last recession. The company’s key competitive advantage is that its products are in high demand as medical devices and other healthcare products are still sought out during a recession. People will seek medical care regardless of how the economy is performing. This ability to grow or maintain earnings in any economic climate makes BD a quality company and a consistent dividend growth stock.

In 2024, BDX increased its quarterly dividend 9.5% to $1.04, extending the company’s dividend growth streak to 53 consecutive years. The dividend has a compound annual growth rate of 5.2% over the last 10 years and 5.7% over the past five years, solid dividend growth rates that have outpaced the rate of inflation.

Emerson Electric (EMR)

Emerson Electric was founded in Missouri in 1890 and since that time, it has evolved through organic growth, as well as strategic acquisitions and divestitures, from a regional manufacturer of electric motors and fans into a diversified global leader in technology and engineering.

Its global customer base and diverse product and service offerings afford it more than $18 billion in annual revenue.

Emerson posted second quarter earnings on May 7th, 2025, and results were better than expected on both the top and bottom lines. Revenue was up 1.1% year-over-year to $4.43 billion, beating estimates by $50 million.

The company consummated its acquisition of AspenTech during the quarter. Underlying sales were up 2% after adjusting for currency impacts.

Free cash flow was up 14% to $738 million, while operating cash flow climbed to $825 million. Adjusted segment earnings pretax rose by 200 basis points to 28% of revenue, a new quarterly record. Adjusted earnings were up 6% year-over-year.

Emerson expects AspenTech to generate about $100 million in cost savings by 2028. In addition, the company is keeping the Safety and Productivity business after the strategic review.

Emerson’s competitive advantage is in its many decades of experience in building customer relationships and engineering excellence. It has a global customer base that is seeing strong economic growth and that underlying sales tailwind should power results going forward.

EMR has increased its dividend for 68 consecutive years.

PPG Industries’ key advantage is that it is one of just three similarly-sized companies in the coatings and paints industry, which limits its competitors. This gives PPG Industries size and scale and the ability to increase prices.