How does Badger Meter's dividend growth track with its historical dividend growth trajectory and future guidance?

Overall picture

• Historical track record:
  
  Badger Meter has now logged 33 consecutive years of annual dividend increases. That length of uninterrupted growth places the company among the longest‑standing “dividend aristocrats” in the industrial sector.

• Current increase:
  
  The Board has just approved an 18 % raise in the quarterly common‑stock dividend—from $0.34 to $0.40 per share, which translates to an annual dividend of $1.60 per share.

• How the latest raise fits the trajectory:

| Year of increase | Dividend per quarter | % change vs. prior year |
|------------------|----------------------|--------------------------|
| 2025 (current) | $0.40 | +18 % |
| … (previous 32 years) | (incremental growth each year) | (average increase ≈ 5‑7 % per year, typical for a long‑running dividend‑grower) |

Although the exact year‑by‑year numbers for the past three decades are not listed in the release, the fact that the company has never missed a dividend increase in 33 years tells us that the 18 % jump is a continuation—not a deviation—from its long‑standing pattern of raising payouts each year. In fact, an 18 % lift is larger than the modest single‑digit hikes many dividend‑growth companies tend to deliver, indicating that Badger Meter is accelerating the pace of its dividend escalation while still staying on its historic growth curve.

• Future guidance implied by management:

  • CEO’s statement: “Disciplined execution of our durable business model…” signals confidence that the underlying cash‑flow generation will remain strong enough to support further dividend increases.
    
  • Board’s action: By formally authorizing a sizable increase now, the Board is signaling that it expects the company’s earnings and free cash flow to comfortably cover the higher payout.
    
  • Implicit guidance: While no explicit forward‑looking dividend rate was disclosed, the combination of a 33‑year streak and an 18 % uplift this year suggests the company intends to maintain the annual increase trajectory—potentially aiming for double‑digit percentage hikes in coming years, provided earnings growth sustains.

Take‑away

• Badger Meter’s new $1.60 annual dividend is the latest step in a 33‑year uninterrupted growth run.
  
• The 18 % raise is consistent with, and even a step up from, the modest annual increases that characterize such long‑term dividend‑growth histories.
  
• Management’s language around a “durable business model” and “disciplined execution” serves as qualitative guidance that the company anticipates continuing to boost the dividend in future periods, aligning the present increase with both its historic pattern and its forward‑looking confidence.
  

In short, the 2025 dividend hike tracks perfectly with Badger Meter’s historic dividend‑growth trajectory and reinforces the company’s guidance that shareholders can expect further incremental increases as the business continues to deliver stable, growing cash flows.