Why I Just Bought More of These 3 Top Dividend Stocks in My Retirement Account and Plan to Keep Adding in 2025

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I'm a huge fan of investing in dividend-paying stocks. They supply me with passive income that I can reinvest as I see fit. I can eventually use that income to pay some of my expenses when I retire. On top of that, dividend stocks have historically been high performers. The average dividend stock in the S&P 500 has outperformed non-payers by more than two-to-one over the last 50 years, according to data from Ned Davis Research and Hartford Funds.

Given these dynamics, I buy more shares of high-quality dividend stocks any chance I get. I recently added to my positions in Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX), Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE: MAA), and Rexford Industrial (NYSE: REXR). Here's why I continue loading up on these top dividend stocks in my retirement account.

Caffeinated dividend growth

Starbucks pays a pretty attractive dividend. The coffee giant currently yields about 2.7%, more than double the S&P 500's dividend yield (1.2%). It also has an exceptional record of growing its dividend. Since initiating its payout in 2010, Starbucks has increased its dividend every year, growing it at a 20% compound annual rate. It gave its investors a 7% raise in October, its 14th straight year of increasing the payout.

Despite already being the world's largest coffee chain, Starbucks expects to continue growing. It recently hired a new CEO who launched the company on a "back to Starbucks" strategy to return to its core identity and put it back on a growth trajectory. While the company already has over 40,000 stores worldwide, it previously set a goal to get its global footprint up to 55,000 locations by 2030. That future growth should enable Starbucks to continue raising its dividend.

The tide will turn in 2025

Mid-America Apartment Communities (MAA) is one of the country's largest landlords. The real estate investment trust (REIT) has around 104,500 apartment units spread across the fast-growing Sun Belt region.

The apartment REIT has never suspended or reduced its dividend in its 30-year history. While it hasn't raised its dividend every year, it recently hit 15 consecutive years of dividend increases by providing investors with a 3.1% pay bump in December. With that raise, it now yields 3.9%.

MAA sees more growth ahead in 2025 and beyond. After battling a surge of new apartment supply across its markets in recent years, the REIT expects those headwinds to fade next year when it should enter a multiyear cycle of demand outpacing supply. That will benefit the company's existing portfolio and the roughly $1 billion of projects it currently has under development.