| "Oops, I did it again"
- Britney Spears In 2025, Safety Net was once again an excellent resource for evaluating the safety of a company's dividend. During the year, 10 stocks were rated "A" for dividend safety. None of them cut their dividends. In fact, since 2023, not one of the 29 "A"-rated stocks has lowered its payout within a year after we evaluated it. Even more impressive, 50% of 2025's "A"-rated stocks boosted their dividends during the year, including Iron Mountain (NYSE: IRM), which raised its dividend by 10% six months after my "A" rating was released, Delek Logistics Partners (NYSE: DKL), which raised its distribution each quarter, and MPLX (NYSE: MPLX), which hiked its payout by 12% less than a week after I gave it an "A" rating. I only gave four stocks a "B" for dividend safety in 2025, but two of them boosted their dividends, while the other two kept them the same. There were no cuts. Energy Transfer (NYSE: ET) was rated "B" in April and raised its distribution every quarter in 2025. There were seven stocks whose dividends were considered to have a moderate risk of being cut, receiving a "C" rating. Two raised their dividends; two cut them. The average change to the dividend of those seven stocks was -10.6%. There were a handful of cuts among the "D" and "F"-rated stocks as well. We gave 12 stocks a "D" grade, and 17 others were rated "F." Two out of the 12 "D"s lowered their dividends, while three out of the 17 "F"s did so. "D"-rated stocks had the biggest average drop at 12.4%. "F"-rated stocks only saw a 6.4% average decline, but that number is skewed a bit by one variable dividend that saw a sizable - yet likely temporary - increase. | 
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