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A Global Surge in Acceptance: This Credit Powerhouse Has Expanded Its Card Reach Fivefold

From energy acquisitions to breakthrough therapies and global card expansion, see the latest moves by dividend payers shaping growth, and learn what it means for your yields.

Author

Noah Zelvis
September 14, 2025

In partnership with

One iconic card brand has quietly expanded its acceptance to 160 million locations worldwide, a fivefold surge since 2017. 

Alongside this, there are lots more dividend developments to take in, from major energy acquisitions to fresh biotech breakthroughs.

Read on for the latest.

How 433 Investors Unlocked 400X Return Potential

Institutional investors back startups to unlock outsized returns. Regular investors have to wait. But not anymore. Thanks to regulatory updates, some companies are doing things differently.

Take Revolut. In 2016, 433 regular people invested an average of $2,730. Today? They got a 400X buyout offer from the company, as Revolut’s valuation increased 89,900% in the same timeframe.

Founded by a former Zillow exec, Pacaso’s co-ownership tech reshapes the $1.3T vacation home market. They’ve earned $110M+ in gross profit to date, including 41% YoY growth in 2024 alone. They even reserved the Nasdaq ticker PCSO.

The same institutional investors behind Uber, Venmo, and eBay backed Pacaso. And you can join them. But not for long. Pacaso’s investment opportunity ends September 18.

Paid advertisement for Pacaso’s Regulation A offering. Read the offering circular at invest.pacaso.com. Reserving a ticker symbol is not a guarantee that the company will go public. Listing on the NASDAQ is subject to approvals.

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Asset Management

Think BlackRock Is Just About ETFs? Not Anymore

BlackRock (NYSE: BLK) just dropped a $10 billion financing package through its Global Infrastructure Partners unit to back Saudi Aramco’s Jafurah gas project. It’s part of an $11 billion deal where Aramco will lease back its own pipelines and facilities for the next 20 years.

That’s not just a headline number. It’s BlackRock buying into long-term cash flow that doesn’t swing with the market every other week.

Turning Pipes Into Paychecks

The deal is structured so Aramco pays rent on its infrastructure. Translation: BlackRock gets steady, contracted income for two decades.

Instead of betting on stock tickers that move by the hour, this is locking in yield the old-school way — with hard assets that pay like clockwork.

Building a Portfolio That Outlasts Cycles

This isn’t a one-off. It’s part of BlackRock’s bigger push to dominate global energy infrastructure, a trillion-dollar market in its own right. With Aramco holding 51% and GIP leading the charge, the partnership leans on scale and staying power.

It shows BlackRock is playing a different game than just ETFs and funds. And for anyone waiting on the sidelines, deals like this are reminders that sitting out too long could mean missing where the real money’s flowing.

BLK currently trades at $1,120 and pays a dividend of $20.84 per share, a yield of 1.86%.

Pharmaceuticals

AbbVie Just Locked Rinvoq Until 2037 — That’s a Power Play


AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) just settled with every generic drugmaker trying to copy Rinvoq. The deal pushes back competition until at least 2037, giving the drug four extra years of exclusivity.

That matters because Rinvoq isn’t just another pill; it’s one of AbbVie’s biggest growth engines, already pulling in nearly $4 billion in the first half of 2025.

Rinvoq Is Carrying the Load

Humira’s fall was supposed to leave a giant hole in AbbVie’s business. Instead, Rinvoq and Skyrizi have stepped in, with combined sales on track to top $25 billion this year.

By locking out generics longer, AbbVie can keep that revenue flowing while it builds out new uses for Rinvoq in conditions like alopecia and vitiligo.

A Clearer Growth Runway

Rinvoq already covers eight approved indications, and more are coming. Each new label expands the market, adding billions to peak sales potential.

The settlement doesn’t just delay competition, it gives AbbVie breathing room to push Rinvoq deeper into the immunology space, strengthen its pipeline, and protect margins. In a crowded market with rivals like J&J and Lilly, that extra time could be the difference between defending share and dominating it.

ABBV currently trades at $218.00 and pays a dividend of $6.56 per share, a yield of 3.00%.

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Consumer

PepsiCo Just Turned Farms Into Its Secret Weapon

PepsiCo (NASDAQ: PEP) is going straight to the source — the farm. It’s teaming up with Mars and ADM to push regenerative agriculture across 5,400 hectares in Poland, focusing on rapeseed crops that end up in Lay’s and Doritos.

Farmers get funding, training, and tools to rotate crops, cut fertilizer, and rebuild soil health. PepsiCo gets a steadier supply chain and fewer climate-related surprises messing with margins.

Farming for Profit, Not Just PR

This isn’t about slapping a “green” label on a chip bag. Crop failures and price swings are real risks that eat into profits. By backing regenerative farming, PepsiCo is locking in predictable sourcing and lowering its long-term costs.

It also helps sidestep regulatory headaches, proving the company is ahead of the curve instead of scrambling to catch up.

A Playbook Others Can’t Copy Overnight

PepsiCo wants to expand regenerative farming across 10 million acres by 2030. That scale doesn’t just look good on a sustainability report, as it creates a moat that competitors without this kind of muscle can’t easily replicate.

In plain terms, PepsiCo is planting stability into its supply chain. Anyone still sitting out might want to notice: this is how you future-proof a snack empire.

PEP currently trades at $143 and pays a dividend of $5.69 per share, a yield of 3.98%.

Dividend Stocks Worth Watching

Diversified Energy Company PLC (NYSE: DEC) has agreed to acquire the Oklahoma energy company, Canvas Energy, in a deal costing $550 million. The agreement will see Diversified Energy obtaining operated producing properties and acreage positions in Major, Kingfisher, and Canadian Counties, along with 23 high-quality wells. 

Diversified says it expects the integration to generate an estimated NTM EBITDA of ~$155 million, before anticipated synergies with additional portfolio optimization opportunities coming from underdeveloped acreage in meaningful development locations. 

DEC offers an attractive 7.44% yield, with a 21-cent quarterly dividend. 

Amgen (NYSE: AMGN) has cleared a significant barrier in achieving approval for rocatinlimab, an investigational T-cell rebalancing therapy targeting the OX40 receptor in adults and adolescents with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis (AD). 

It has just released its top-line results for Phase Three of its study into the long-term safety and efficacy of the therapy. The study, known as ASCEND, is scheduled to last two and a half years. While ASCEND is focused on the chronic inflammatory disease AD, separate studies are also underway for other conditions, including asthma and prurigo nodularis. 

AMGN pays a quarterly dividend of $2.38 with a 3.40% yield. 

American Express (NYSE: AXP) cards are now accepted at approximately 160 million Merchant locations worldwide, the company has announced, with the number of outlets growing fivefold since 2017. 

Much of the retail growth has been powered by overseas destinations. An additional 1 million Japanese locations have been added in the last year, for example. The number of locations accepting American Express as a form of payment in the UK has risen threefold since 2021, driven by a surge in small businesses, while more than 25,000 new locations were added across the Caribbean last year. 

AXP pays a 22-cent dividend, with a steady 1.0% yield.

Dividend Increases

RCL has increased its dividend payment to $1.00, a 33.33% rise. Its new yield is 1.17%. 

JCI has lifted its dividend payment to 40 cents, a rise of 8.11%. Its new yield is 1.51%.

USB has increased its dividend payment to 52 cents, a 4.0% rise. Its new yield is 4.21%.

Dividend Decreases

BXP has cut its dividend payment to 70 cents, a reduction of 28.57%. Its new yield is 3.8%. 

USTB has reduced its dividend payment to 19 cents, a drop of 1.91%. Its new yield is 4.43%. 

YUEIY has lowered its dividend payment to 20 cents, representing a 59.67% decline. Its new yield is 8.49%. 

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Upcoming Dividend Payers

O’s ex-dividend date for the forthcoming 27-cent payment is 09/15/25.

HSY’s ex-dividend date for the forthcoming $1.37 payment is 09/15/25.

SWK’s ex-dividend date for the forthcoming 38-cent payment is 09/16/25.

Everything Else

That’s all for today’s edition of the Dividend Brief.

Thanks for reading, and if you have any feedback or dividend stocks you want me to take a look at, just reply to this email!

—Noah Zelvis
DividendBrief.com