Many investors desire to live off safe and growing dividends during retirement, allowing them to worry less about stock market fluctuations and recessions. To this end, many blue-chip dividend stocks have impressive track records of not only maintaining or growing their payouts during market downturns, but also outperforming the broader market. Dividend aristocrats, S&P 500 companies that have increased their payouts for at least 25 consecutive years, are an appealing place to start looking for recession-proof stocks that can deliver safe and growing income during any economic, interest rate, or stock market environment.

Founded in 1987, Gilead Sciences (GILD) is one of the world's leading biotech companies. The firm operates in more than 35 countries worldwide, researching, manufacturing, and distributing various medications to treat HIV/AIDs, liver diseases, and immune, respiratory, and cardiovascular diseases. Gilead has historically focused on antiviral products for infectious diseases, which made up 84% of sales in 2018

AbbVie (ABBV) was spun off from Abbott Laboratories (ABT) in 2013 as a standalone biopharmaceutical company focused on four primary therapeutic areas: immunology, oncology, virology, and neuroscience. The company's drugs treat conditions such as chronic autoimmune diseases in rheumatology, gastroenterology, and dermatology; oncology, including blood cancers; virology, including hepatitis C (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV); neurological disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis; metabolic diseases, including thyroid disease and complications associated with cystic fibrosis; as well as other serious health conditions. The company's blockbuster arthritis drug Humira accounts for approximately 60% of sales and an even greater share of AbbVie's profits (70%). In order to diversify away from Humira, which accounted for nearly all sales and earnings at [...]

Cardinal Health's (CAH) stock price has slumped nearly 40% over the last two years, driving its dividend yield to a record high of 4.4% in late 2018. Dividend aristocrats such as Cardinal Health are often owned under the assumption that they will generate safe, growing income while recording healthy total returns and low stock price volatility compared to the broader market. However, not all aristocrats live up to the group's impressive long-term track record. Cardinal Health's weak performance has some investors wondering if the market might be signaling that the company's dividend has become unsafe, or at the very least that the firm's long-term growth prospects have dimmed.