Investing in stocks that steadily increase their dividend payments can be a solid strategy for generating substantial income over the long term. Companies that steadily hike their dividends mostly have strong financials,

Higher-yielding dividend stocks tend to be slower-growing companies. They often pay out a significant percentage of their cash flow in dividends because they don't have enough attractive growth opportunities to reinvest that cash. Their slower growth also weighs on their valuations, which causes their dividend yields to rise.