3 Dividend Stocks That Pass My Safety Checklist

Next, I only want to buy stocks that tend to go up over the long term. Otherwise, even if I make money from dividend payments, I could end up losing money because the share price is going down.

As you can see in the chart shown above, JPM stock has had its ups and downs (like every stock does) but has generally gained value over the years. That’s a positive sign, so let’s move on to the next items on my checklist.

Before putting a stock in my portfolio, I want to make sure that the company is financially solid. Therefore, I look for profitable businesses with revenue growth.

As it turns out, JPMorgan Chase is profitable and, in the first quarter of 2025, the company grew its net income by 9% year over year to $14.643 billion. Consequently, I feel like JPMorgan Chase’s dividends should be sustainable.

Finally, just to make sure that JPMorgan Chase can afford to continue paying its dividends, I will check the company’s dividend payout ratio. This ratio measures a company’s dividend payments as a percentage of the company’s earnings.

If a dividend payout ratio exceeds 50%, this is a red flag because the company might not have enough earnings to continue paying its dividends. This isn’t a problem for JPMorgan Chase, though, as its dividend payout ratio is only 26%.

All in all, JPMorgan Chase checks all of the right boxes and is an ideal candidate for my passive income portfolio. JPM stock offers a forward annual dividend yield of 1.93%, and I can hold the shares with confidence because the company is in excellent financial condition.

Mariott International (MAR)

My second dividend stock pick is world-famous hotel chain Mariott International (NASDAQ:MAR). As you might expect, Mariott’s market cap is in the billions and its stock price chart has historically gone up.

Already, Mariott International is passing my tests with flying colors. Is the company profitable and in rock-solid financial condition, though? The answer is yes, as Mariott’s net income rose 18% from $564 million in 2024’s first quarter to $665 million in the first quarter of 2025.

I would like to collect Mariott International’s 0.98% dividend yield, but I want further assurance that the company’s dividend is sustainable. Fortunately, Mariott’s dividend payout ratio is only 29%, which is well below the 50% cutoff point that I use as a guideline.

As you can see, running companies through my checklist becomes quick and easy once you get the hang of it. Now, let’s put one more dividend stock to the test and see if it’s a worthy portfolio pick.

T-Mobile (TMUS)

We’re on a dividend-hunting winning streak today, and the next contender is telecommunications giant T-Mobile (NASDAQ:TMUS). There’s no doubt whatsoever that T-Mobile is a large-cap company, and TMUS stock has clearly moved upward over the years.

Peering into the company’s recent financials, we’ll find that T-Mobile’s net income increased 24% from $2.374 billion in Q1 2024 to $2.953 billion in Q1 2025. It’s safe to conclude, then, that the company is profitable and can probably afford to pay its dividends.

Just to make sure, however, we’ll go ahead and check T-Mobile’s dividend payout ratio. It happens to be 32%, which is a reasonable number that bolsters my confidence in T-Mobile as a reliable dividend distributor. 

Since T-Mobile offers a 1.48% dividend yield, today is a great day to consider starting a position in TMUS stock. Then, after conducting your due diligence on JPM stock and MAR stock, feel free to apply our checklist to any number of potential passive income stock picks.

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