The Dividend Mailbox®

Greg Denewiler
  • 5.0 (43)
  • Investing
  • Updated Monthly

We want to stuff your mailbox with dividends! Our goal is to show you the power of dividend growth investing, and for each year's check to be larger than the last. We analyze specific companies and look at the mindset this strategy requires to be successful long-term. Come explore this not-so-boring world and watch your portfolio's value compound.

  1. What Is the Market? Why Your Definition Shapes Your Returns

    1d ago

    What Is the Market? Why Your Definition Shapes Your Returns

    The news says the market is down, up, sideways... but which market? The Dow, the S&P 500, SCHD, gold, real estate—on any given day, they're all doing something different. If you don't know which market is actually yours, sooner or later, one of the others will seduce you into a move you'll regret. In Episode 60, Greg takes on a question that sounds almost too simple: What is the market? Using six real-world examples—from dividend ETFs to Denver office towers to SpaceX ($SPCX)—he shows how dramatically different markets can move in completely opposite directions at the same time and why investors who haven't clearly defined their market tend to react to the wrong signals at the worst possible moments. The clearest example is SCHD, Schwab's dividend ETF. From 2022 through 2025, it lagged the S&P 500 by a wide margin in three of four years—enough to break most investors. Then 2026 hits: SCHD is up nearly 20%, and the S&P is under 9%. The investors who stayed were right all along. They just had to get comfortable with 3 years of underperformance to realize the benefit. Greg explains why that gap—between being right and feeling right—is where a lot of investors lose focus. The same pattern runs through two 29-story office towers in downtown Denver that sold for $5 million total, while the equivalent square footage five miles away in Cherry Creek would fetch over $63 million. Or Microsoft ($MSFT), which swung from $550 to $355 to $460 to $390 in a single year while its dividend grew at 10% annually without interruption. Price and value are not the same thing—and once you know which market you're actually in, the noise from every other market gets a lot easier to ignore.  All kinds of “markets” can work. The investors who build wealth aren't necessarily picking the best one; they're staying committed to the one that works for them.   Topics Covered:  [00:11] Introduction & 5th Year Anniversary  [03:06] What Is "The Market"? Defining the Question  [06:04] SCHD vs. S&P 500: Four Years, Two Very Different Outcomes  [10:00] The Three Tiers of Dividend Investing  [12:53] Denver Real Estate: Same City, Two Different Markets  [19:28] Gold: A Market With Its Own Rules  [21:35] SpaceX: When Valuation Defies Convention  [24:19] Microsoft ($MSFT): Price vs. Value in Real Time  [27:30] Takeaway: Pick Your Battles, Win the War  [31:34] Close: Get on the Line and Stay on the Line (GDP Eventually Goes Up) ________  📖 Free Book: Dividend Growth: The Quiet Engine of Wealth  Dividend growth investing sounds simple, but doing it well for decades is not. That’s why we wrote Dividend Growth: The Quiet Engine of Wealth—a practical guide to building a framework you can stick with when things get uncomfortable. You can get a free copy here.  📰 Monthly Newsletter: Observations on the Market  📧 Questions or comments: dcm.team@growmydollar.com Send us Fan Mail ________  Resources: 📅 Schedule a meeting: Financial Planning & Portfolio Management 📊 Getting into the weeds: DCM Investment Reports & Models  ________ If you found this valuable, subscribing and leaving a review helps more investors find the show. Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | X ________  Disclaimer: Past performance does not guarantee future results. Every investor should consider whether an investment strategy is right for them and all the risks involved. Stocks, including dividend stocks, are volatile and can lose money. Denewiler Capital Management may or may not have positions in the publicly traded companies mentioned herein.

    35 min
  2. Second-Level Thinking: Why Dividend Stocks Win in the Age of AI

    May 23

    Second-Level Thinking: Why Dividend Stocks Win in the Age of AI

    Everyone's talking about what AI is going to disrupt. The question most investors aren't asking: What happens after that disruption, and who actually wins? The obvious answer and the right answer are rarely the same thing.  In this episode, Greg introduces a framework he first encountered through Howard Marks: first-level vs. second-level thinking. First-level thinking reacts to what's in front of you. Second-level thinking follows the chain of consequences and the ripple effects most people ignore. In an era where AI can reshape an industry in months, the gap between those two ways of thinking has never been more costly to ignore. From there, Greg walks through real portfolio positions—Intel (INTC) and Accenture (ACN)—to show how second-level thinking plays out in practice. He also runs through a handful of names—Union Pacific (UNP), UPS (UPS), GE Vernova (GEV), Chevron (CVX), Lockheed Martin (LMT), General Dynamics (GD), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), and Merck (MRK)—to illustrate which kinds of businesses AI threatens, which ones it quietly strengthens, and why some of the most "boring" dividend stocks may be the most defensible investments of the next decade. The core argument: brands, software, and moats built on perception are vulnerable. Logistics, infrastructure, and physical production are not, and AI may actually make them stronger. Topics Covered: [00:41] Introduction & why AI matters for dividend investors  [04:47] First-level vs. second-level thinking — the Howard Marks framework  [08:43] AI is accelerating disruption — and may be technology's own worst enemy  [11:21] Are strong brands and moats as durable as we thought?  [13:50] Why physical infrastructure may be the best AI defense  [15:19] Intel ($INTC) — patience, conviction, and the US chip story  [18:16] Accenture ($ACN) — the market's fear may be first-level thinking  [22:21] Union Pacific ($UNP), UPS ($UPS) — logistics AI can't replace  [24:27] Rapid-fire second-level takes: GEV, CVX, LMT, GD, JNJ, MRK  [28:08] Final takeaway: the game has changed, sustainable dividend growth requires a new lens  ________ Dividend Growth: The Quiet Engine of Wealth  Dividend growth investing sounds simple, but doing it well for decades is not. That’s why we wrote Dividend Growth: The Quiet Engine of Wealth—a practical guide to building a framework you can stick with when things get uncomfortable. You can get a free copy here.  Plus, join our market newsletter for more on dividend growth investing.  Send us Fan Mail ________  Resources: 📅 Schedule a meeting: Financial Planning & Portfolio Management 📊 Getting into the weeds: DCM Investment Reports & Models  ________ If you found this valuable, subscribing and leaving a review helps more investors find the show. Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | X ________  Disclaimer: Past performance does not guarantee future results. Every investor should consider whether an investment strategy is right for them and all the risks involved. Stocks, including dividend stocks, are volatile and can lose money. Denewiler Capital Management may or may not have positions in the publicly traded companies mentioned herein.

    32 min
  3. It Was Never About "Dividends." It Was Always About Income.

    Apr 23

    It Was Never About "Dividends." It Was Always About Income.

    Real estate investors don't think of themselves as dividend investors. Neither do venture capitalists or business owners collecting profit distributions. But strip away the labels, and every one of them is doing the same thing: buying a stream of income and betting it grows. The wrapper is different. The logic is identical. To prove it, Greg walks through three real investments, all made in 2013, with the same $535 million starting point: Republic Plaza (one of Denver’s premier office towers), Sysco ($SYY), and DCM’s own Model Portfolio. In year one, the building won on income. Today, thirteen years later, it's generating the least of the three, and the building itself has lost nearly half its value. The model portfolio, which started with the lowest income, now generates the most. The difference wasn't asset class. It was whether the income grew. That compounding gap is what Greg calls the "second decade effect"—the point where a growing income stream laps a higher but stagnant one. It's also why income focus gives investors something price-chasing never can: control, predictability, and a reason to stay put when markets get uncomfortable.   Topics Covered: [00:00] Introduction & the "income mailbox" reframe [01:34] Why the word "dividend" misleads investors [04:26] The foundation: every investment is a bet on cash flow [06:09] Three investments, same $535 million starting point, 2013 [09:17] Thirteen years later: how each one performed [13:59] The "second decade effect" — why growing income wins over time [17:48] Two mindsets: growing income vs. speculating on price [20:11] What the NYSE closing bell taught Greg about how investors think [24:38] Dividends vs. buybacks: why income creates capital discipline [28:42] Three takeaways and final thoughts ________  Dividend Growth: The Quiet Engine of Wealth  Dividend growth investing sounds simple, but doing it well for decades is not. That’s why we wrote Dividend Growth: The Quiet Engine of Wealth—a practical guide to building a framework you can stick with when things get uncomfortable. You can get a free copy here.  Plus, join our market newsletter for more on dividend growth investing.  ________  Send us Fan Mail ________  Resources: 📅 Schedule a meeting: Financial Planning & Portfolio Management 📊 Getting into the weeds: DCM Investment Reports & Models  ________ If you found this valuable, subscribing and leaving a review helps more investors find the show. Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | X ________  Disclaimer: Past performance does not guarantee future results. Every investor should consider whether an investment strategy is right for them and all the risks involved. Stocks, including dividend stocks, are volatile and can lose money. Denewiler Capital Management may or may not have positions in the publicly traded companies mentioned herein.

    33 min
  4. EXPRESS MAIL: Sysco Drops ~15% after $29 Billion Bet — Dividend Growth at Risk?

    Apr 2

    EXPRESS MAIL: Sysco Drops ~15% after $29 Billion Bet — Dividend Growth at Risk?

    Sysco ($SYY) just announced the acquisition of Restaurant Depot in a $29 billion deal — and the market didn't like it. The stock fell more than $10 in a single day, briefly dipping below $70.  Did this deal break the dividend growth story… or create a rare opportunity for long-term investors?  Most acquisitions destroy shareholder value, but this one is more complicated. The deal expands Sysco's revenue base by roughly 20%, targets a complementary customer segment, and appears reasonably priced on a free cash flow basis. But it also introduces meaningful risks—rising debt, pressure on credit quality, and a near-term dividend growth story that looks very different from what it did a week ago.  Greg walks through the numbers, the strategic rationale, and the trade-offs investors need to consider. More importantly, he tackles the core dilemma: how do you balance dividend growth discipline with total return potential when a high-quality business enters a gray area?  Topics Covered: [00:00:41] Overview of Sysco’s $29B acquisition [00:02:13] Restaurant Depot’s niche and why the deal could work [00:05:24] Valuation breakdown: Did Sysco overpay or get a fair deal? [00:07:45] Debt impact, interest costs, and credit rating risks [00:11:11] Deleveraging plan and what it means for financial flexibility [00:12:18] Dividend outlook: Why growth may stall in the near term [00:14:24] Valuation opportunity, execution track record, and upside potential [00:15:26] The core dilemma: balancing dividend growth vs total return ________  Dividend Growth: The Quiet Engine of Wealth  Dividend growth investing sounds simple, but doing it well for decades is not. That’s why we wrote Dividend Growth: The Quiet Engine of Wealth—a practical guide to building a framework you can stick with when things get uncomfortable. You can get a free copy here.  Plus, join our market newsletter for more on dividend growth investing.  Send us Fan Mail ________  Resources: 📅 Schedule a meeting: Financial Planning & Portfolio Management 📊 Getting into the weeds: DCM Investment Reports & Models  ________ If you found this valuable, subscribing and leaving a review helps more investors find the show. Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | X ________  Disclaimer: Past performance does not guarantee future results. Every investor should consider whether an investment strategy is right for them and all the risks involved. Stocks, including dividend stocks, are volatile and can lose money. Denewiler Capital Management may or may not have positions in the publicly traded companies mentioned herein.

    18 min
  5. What’s Your Anchor? Dividends in an Uncertain Market

    Mar 23

    What’s Your Anchor? Dividends in an Uncertain Market

    Markets feel uncertain. Headlines are driving sentiment. Oil prices are volatile, and cracks are forming in private credit, making high yield look more attractive than ever. But is that yield actually protecting you, or pulling you into risk? In this episode, Greg looks at three real-world examples to examine how income behaves under pressure and what that reveals about portfolio stability.  We break down private credit and the hidden risks behind high yields and limited liquidity, evaluate Campbell’s ($CPB) and whether its elevated dividend is sustainable amid weakening fundamentals, and revisit Chevron ($CVX) as a case study in durable, growing income during oil market volatility. Along the way, we explore why rising yield can be a warning sign, how cash flow drives long-term returns, and what separates sustainable dividend growth from income traps. Because when volatility rises, the goal isn’t to predict the next move. It’s to stay anchored. Topics Covered [00:11] Introduction [03:31] Market Volatility & Investor Sentiment  [04:47] Private Credit Risks & High Yield Illusion  [11:04] Campbell’s ($CPB): High-Yield Warning Signs  [17:17] Chevron ($CVX): Dividend Stability in Oil Volatility  [26:38] Berkshire Hathaway: Reminder on the Importance of Cash Flow  [29:11] The Dividend Anchor & Final Takeaways ________  Dividend Growth: The Quiet Engine of Wealth  Dividend growth investing sounds simple, but doing it well for decades is not. That’s why we wrote Dividend Growth: The Quiet Engine of Wealth—a practical guide to building a framework you can stick with when things get uncomfortable. You can get a free copy here.  Plus, join our market newsletter for more on dividend growth investing.  Send us Fan Mail ________  Resources: 📅 Schedule a meeting: Financial Planning & Portfolio Management 📊 Getting into the weeds: DCM Investment Reports & Models  ________ If you found this valuable, subscribing and leaving a review helps more investors find the show. Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | X ________  Disclaimer: Past performance does not guarantee future results. Every investor should consider whether an investment strategy is right for them and all the risks involved. Stocks, including dividend stocks, are volatile and can lose money. Denewiler Capital Management may or may not have positions in the publicly traded companies mentioned herein.

    34 min
  6. From Lagging to Leading: When Success Gets Complicated

    Feb 24

    From Lagging to Leading: When Success Gets Complicated

    Dividend Growth: The Quiet Engine of Wealth  Dividend growth investing sounds simple, but doing it well for decades is not. That’s why we wrote Dividend Growth: The Quiet Engine of Wealth—a practical guide to building a framework you can stick with when things get uncomfortable. You can get a free copy here.  Plus, join our market newsletter for more on dividend growth investing.  ________  After a year of lagging the S&P 500, dividend investors are finally playing catch-up. Income is growing. Prices are rising. Total returns are improving. But success brings a new challenge: what happens when valuations rise, yields fall, and future returns get harder to find? In this episode, Greg explores the hidden downside of success in dividend growth investing. With dividend stocks outperforming early in 2026 and capital rotating out of growth and AI, he explains why rising prices create a new challenge: redeploying capital without sacrificing long-term returns. He revisits income growth vs. total return, explains why cash flow acts as the anchor in volatile markets, and walks through why sometimes the best move is to do nothing. He also contrasts chasing yield with sustainable compounding, including why shifting into Treasuries for higher income can miss the bigger picture. The second half of the episode moves into real portfolio examples—showing what “sell,” “hold,” and “buy” look like in practice: Why Emerson Electric ($EMR) no longer fits the model What Clorox’s ($CLX) acquisition strategy could mean for dividend growth How Hershey ($HSY) shows patience through commodity cycles Why Accenture ($ACN) represents a redeployment opportunity Long-term success isn’t about chasing what’s working today. It’s about discipline, letting income compound, and trusting that if cash flow grows, prices follow. Topics Covered:   [00:11] Introduction [03:45] Income growth vs. total return investing [07:24] Why dividend income is the anchor [09:52] Valuation risk and redeployment challenges [10:22] Buffett, patience, and portfolio discipline [11:38] Treasuries vs. dividend stocks: yield vs. growth [13:03] Cash flow as the North Star [15:26] Emerson Electric ($EMR): selling a winner [20:03] Clorox ($CLX): acquisition risk and dividend sustainability [27:40] Hershey ($HSY): commodity cycles and patience [32:03] Accenture ($ACN): dividend growth opportunity [35:11] Redeploying capital in rising markets [36:07] Final takeaway: consistency and long-term compounding     Send us Fan Mail ________  Resources: 📅 Schedule a meeting: Financial Planning & Portfolio Management 📊 Getting into the weeds: DCM Investment Reports & Models  ________ If you found this valuable, subscribing and leaving a review helps more investors find the show. Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | X ________  Disclaimer: Past performance does not guarantee future results. Every investor should consider whether an investment strategy is right for them and all the risks involved. Stocks, including dividend stocks, are volatile and can lose money. Denewiler Capital Management may or may not have positions in the publicly traded companies mentioned herein.

    39 min
  7. The One Number That Drives Long-Term Returns

    Jan 24

    The One Number That Drives Long-Term Returns

    Dividend Growth: The Quiet Engine of Wealth  Dividend growth investing sounds simple, but doing it well for decades is not. Markets get noisy. Numbers get confusing. That’s why we wrote Dividend Growth: The Quiet Engine of Wealth—a practical guide to building a framework you can stick with when things get uncomfortable. You can get a free copy here.  Plus, join our market newsletter for more on dividend growth investing.  ________  If you could only look at one number to judge whether a dividend can keep growing for decades, what would it be? In this episode, we strip investing back to first principles. Greg talks about why investors get overwhelmed with data and how focusing on the wrong metrics can quietly lead you off track. Using a simple hot dog stand analogy, he explains why familiar numbers like return on equity (ROE) and return on assets (ROA) can distort reality, especially when leverage enters the picture. From there, he introduces return on invested capital (ROIC) and shows why it does a better job connecting business quality to long-term dividend growth. Later, Greg addresses what ROIC can’t tell you and why context always matters.  Along the way, he walks through real-world examples, including Kraft Heinz ($KHC), Southern Company ($SO), Williams-Sonoma ($WSM), and Microsoft ($MSFT), to show how capital allocation decisions compound over time.  [00:11] Introduction [02:50] Information overload and the danger of focusing on the wrong numbers [04:40] The hot dog stand: ROA vs. ROE and the role of leverage [08:15] Why both ROA and ROE can mislead dividend investors [09:35] Return on invested capital (ROIC) explained in plain English [13:30] ROIC, cost of capital, and long-term value creation [14:55] Case study: Kraft Heinz and why high yield can be a trap [18:30] Case study: Southern Company and when low returns still “work” [22:10] Case study: Williams-Sonoma and disciplined capital allocation [24:55] Case study: Microsoft and the power of long-term compounding [29:10] The limits of ROIC and why incremental returns matter [31:25] Final takeaway: one number, long time horizons, evolving businesses Send us Fan Mail ________  Resources: 📅 Schedule a meeting: Financial Planning & Portfolio Management 📊 Getting into the weeds: DCM Investment Reports & Models  ________ If you found this valuable, subscribing and leaving a review helps more investors find the show. Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | X ________  Disclaimer: Past performance does not guarantee future results. Every investor should consider whether an investment strategy is right for them and all the risks involved. Stocks, including dividend stocks, are volatile and can lose money. Denewiler Capital Management may or may not have positions in the publicly traded companies mentioned herein.

    34 min
  8. Dividend Growth vs. Distraction: A Reset for Long-Term Investors

    12/23/2025

    Dividend Growth vs. Distraction: A Reset for Long-Term Investors

    📘Free Short Book: Dividend Growth, the Quiet Engine of Wealth  If today’s market feels noisy, this short book lays out a calmer framework.  Dividend Growth: The Quiet Engine of Wealth explains the same principles discussed in this episode—discipline, compounding, sustainable income growth, and staying focused when markets distract.  It’s a quick read (about 90 minutes) and walks through how dividend growth works across full market cycles, including bull and bear markets.  👉 Download the free eBook:  growmydollar.com/dividend-growth-book  Plus, join our market newsletter for more on dividend growth investing.  ________  Dividend growth investing can feel uncomfortable when a handful of growth stocks dominate headlines and performance. When value lags and momentum strategies seem unstoppable, it’s easy to wonder whether patience and discipline still make sense.  To round out 2025, Greg steps back from the noise to revisit foundational principles of dividend growth investing and explain why they remain intact, even in today’s market. He walks through why distraction is one of the biggest risks investors face, how compounding quietly does the heavy lifting, and why tying income growth to long-term economic growth creates a durable framework that doesn’t depend on short-term cycles  From the “Vitamin C” concept to classic compounding examples like the penny story and the Rule of 72, this episode reinforces how small, consistent decisions compound into meaningful income over time. Greg also revisits dividend growth targets, yield “sweet spots,” and the practical levers investors can pull to sustain income growth. The episode culminates in a real-world look at the model portfolio, which has been running since 2010.  From all of us here at The Dividend Mailbox®, Happy Holidays! Topics covered:  00:00 – Introduction and why this is a good time to revisit first principles  01:10 – Market distractions, information overload, and staying focused  03:20 – Introducing the new book: Dividend Growth: The Quiet Engine of Wealth  04:20 – The “Vitamin C” concept and daily discipline  05:40 – The penny story and how compounding really works  09:40 – The Rule of 72 and the long-term cost of short-term decisions  11:10 – “The line”: GDP growth, earnings growth, and dividend growth  14:30 – Targeting 7% dividend income growth  16:30 – The 2–4% dividend yield sweet spot  17:55 – Income growth levers: reinvesting, reallocating, and dividend increases  20:40 – The Model Portfolio story and track record 26:40 – Final thoughts on discipline, sustainability, and staying the course  Have questions or want a second opinion on your dividend strategy? Email us anytime at dcm.team@growmydollar.com for a free portfolio review and ongoing dividend insights.  Send us Fan Mail ________  Resources: 📅 Schedule a meeting: Financial Planning & Portfolio Management 📊 Getting into the weeds: DCM Investment Reports & Models  ________ If you found this valuable, subscribing and leaving a review helps more investors find the show. Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | X ________  Disclaimer: Past performance does not guarantee future results. Every investor should consider whether an investment strategy is right for them and all the risks involved. Stocks, including dividend stocks, are volatile and can lose money. Denewiler Capital Management may or may not have positions in the publicly traded companies mentioned herein.

    30 min
See All (63)

5
out of 5
43 Ratings

About

We want to stuff your mailbox with dividends! Our goal is to show you the power of dividend growth investing, and for each year's check to be larger than the last. We analyze specific companies and look at the mindset this strategy requires to be successful long-term. Come explore this not-so-boring world and watch your portfolio's value compound.

Information

  • Creator
    Greg Denewiler
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    63
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Dividend Mailbox®
  • Show Website
    The Dividend Mailbox®

You Might Also Like