Halliburton (HAL) has paid uninterrupted dividends for decades, but the firm's streak looks increasingly likely to come to an end in the near future. The oilfield services provider this morning reported earnings. Unlike in the past, management emphasized that Halliburton would not lean on its balance sheet to protect the dividend during this down cycle: Finally, our [...]

International Business Machines (IBM) this afternoon reported first-quarter earnings results. So far, business is holding up reasonably well. Management said that about 60% of IBM's revenue is in recurring businesses such as long-term services contracts, software streams, and financing arrangements. In 2008, at the last recession, annuity-like businesses only accounted for around 45% of revenue, suggesting the [...]

Meredith (MDP) suspended its dividend today, citing "significant advertising campaign cancellations and delays." The media company's advertising revenue has taken a major hit since the coronavirus pandemic emerged as businesses across almost every industry have slashed non-core expenses. We downgraded Meredith's Dividend Safety Score to Unsafe on March 31. We had previously downgraded the firm's rating to Borderline Safe last September due to weak prospects [...]

Formed in 2003, Medical Properties Trust (MPW) is one of the world's largest owners of hospitals with around 400 facilities and more than 40,000 beds. The REIT's properties are leased or mortgaged by hospital operating companies. MPW's largest tenant, Steward Health Care, accounts for close to 25% of its portfolio (down from 38% at the [...]

In our last General Motors (GM) note on March 19, we wrote the following about the automaker's Borderline Safe Dividend Safety Score: If measures put in place by governments to slow the spread of the coronavirus become more drastic or prolonged, and if economic conditions materially worsen for consumers, then GM's dividend risk profile could need to be [...]

ONEOK (OKE) on Thursday declared its regular quarterly dividend payable in May, maintaining its existing payout despite the uncertainty facing the midstream services industry.  "ONEOK's dividend payout is supported by our strong balance sheet and healthy dividend coverage. Holding the dividend at its current level is the prudent financial decision for ONEOK during this time of market [...]

Shares of Franklin Resources (BEN) are down 25% since March 1, significantly underperforming the S&P 500 during that period and pushing Franklin's dividend yield near an all-time high of 7%. Since we published our last note on Franklin in February reviewing the firm's $4.5 billion acquisition of Legg Mason, the coronavirus pandemic has taken the world by [...]

STORE Capital (STOR) is a triple-net lease REIT with a highly diversified portfolio of tenants that operate in 49 states and over 110 industries. No single tenant accounts for more than 3% of revenue. STORE hasn't provided an update to investors since coronavirus-related shutdowns began in earnest in late March, making it challenging to assess [...]

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) on Tuesday reported first-quarter results and, unlike many of its peers which have withdrawn guidance, provided investors with an update on management's financial expectations for 2020. First, the dividend will remain safe and growing. Management announced plans to raise J&J's dividend by 6.3%, marking its 58th consecutive year of increases. The company's diversified [...]

On March 20, we published a note on Main Street (MAIN) explaining why we believed its regular monthly dividend still appeared safe despite the stock's 14% dividend yield at the time and the looming challenges expected from the coronavirus pandemic. This morning Main Street (MAIN) provided a business update and confirmed that its regular dividend is expected to remain [...]

What is a landlord to do when many tenants, all at once and to no fault of their own, can't operate their businesses and are strapped for cash? This is the question facing Realty Income (O), whose dividend, having never experienced a cut since the firm's founding in 1969, is under its greatest test ever. [...]

The coronavirus pandemic is disrupting many industries in the short term, including senior housing and skilled nursing. National Health Investors (NHI), a healthcare REIT, has high exposure to these markets. Senior housing accounts for nearly 70% of NHI's rental revenue, and skilled nursing facilities contribute another 27%.  Source: NHI Q419 Supplemental Information Based on our [...]

The coronavirus pandemic is disrupting many industries in the short term, including senior housing. Welltower (WELL) generates over 60% of its net operating income, or NOI, from this industry (primarily senior apartments, independent living, and assisted living). About two-thirds of the REIT's exposure to senior housing comes from properties Welltower runs directly by partnering with [...]

On March 20, we published a note detailing actions that TJX was taking to strengthen the firm's financial position in the wake of nationwide store closures. One somewhat surprising component of TJX's plan was to reevaluate its dividend, which the retailer has increased every year since going public in 1987. About a week later, the company filed [...]

On April 8, Starbucks (SBUX) provided a business update in response to the coronavirus pandemic.  The company's board of directors recently approved Starbucks' next dividend, which will be paid in May, and management confirmed that they do not anticipate reducing the dividend going forward despite temporary store closures: To further enhance our financial flexibility, we have also [...]