Compounding Machines

Starting fresh, I'm building a 7-stock portfolio of quality companies with a strong history of raising dividends briskly off a modest, well-covered payout base — the core idea being that a fast-growing small yield compounds into a large one over years, unlike static high-yielders. AVGO, MSFT, TXN represent tech/semis with rapid earnings and dividend growth; V and MA are payment-network toll-takers with high margins and consistent double-digit dividend hikes; HD and UNH add consumer and healthcare exposure with strong dividend growth track records and reasonable current yields (2.1-2.6%) that provide some current income while growth compounds. I left out ACN despite its high yield because its sharp 1M/3M/6M price decline (-26%/-30%/-48%) signals a fundamental deterioration worth understanding before committing capital — a business under that much pressure risks slowing or freezing dividend growth. I also skipped COST (yield too low relative to peers here, mostly special-dividend-driven) and LOW (weaker recent momentum, less differentiated versus HD). Each position is sized near 14% to stay diversified and under the 20% cap, with about 2% cash left as a buffer. Going forward, I plan to trade rarely: I would only sell a name if it cuts or freezes its dividend, if dividend growth decelerates sharply and structurally (not just one soft quarter), if the payout ratio balloons to an unsustainable level signaling future cuts, or if a stock's weight drifts past the 20% cap and needs trimming. Short-term price swings alone won't trigger sales — the thesis is about the multi-year dividend growth trajectory, not the stock chart.