With a new regime both in Washington and on Wall Street in 2025, it’s anybody’s guess what trends will pay off in the New Year. Will trade wars spark inflation and squeeze profit margins for manufacturers and consumer stocks? Will rates move lower and boost borrowing or consumer spending? Or will unexpected headlines make even the best predictions fall apart after just a few months?
Rather than try to pick what stocks are going to come out on top in this uncertain environment, some investors are considering a more defensive approach. Naturally, that includes low-risk dividend stocks. And for those really looking to reduce their risk profile, international dividend stocks that add geographic diversification have a lot to offer.
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A global approach to investing can allow U.S. investors to avoid some domestic risks and also tap into dividends that are significantly above average. In fact, all seven of these international dividend stocks offer yields that are twice as large as the typical dividend payer in the S&P 500:
| International Stock | Market Value | Forward Dividend Yield | Country |
| British American Tobacco PLC (ticker: BTI) | $82.7 billion | 8.0% | U.K. |
| Mizuho Financial Group Inc. (MFG) | $62.7 billion | 2.9% | Japan |
| NatWest Group PLC (NWG) | $41.2 billion | 4.3% | U.K. |
| Nokia Corp. (NOK) | $24 billion | 3.2% | Finland |
| Novartis AG (NVS) | $200 billion | 3.8% | Switzerland |
| TC Energy Corp. (TRP) | $48 billion | 5.2% | Canada |
| Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri A.S. (TKC) | $6 billion | 3.3% | Turkey |
British American Tobacco PLC (BTI)
Market value: $82.7 billion Dividend yield: 8.0% Country: U.K.
Income investors in the U.S. should be very familiar with the long-term dividend potential of tobacco king Altria Group Inc. (MO). Sure, cigarettes and cigars aren’t exactly a growth industry — or particularly healthy — but they do have very loyal customers and reliable sales that support consistent dividends. British American Tobacco is a similar play to Altria, but just on the other side of the pond. It commands a strong portfolio of brands including Grizzly and Kodiak smokeless tobacco, Dunhill, Camel and Kool cigarettes, and a host of other popular offerings. BTI has more or less tracked the market in 2024, but more importantly boasts a mammoth dividend with an annualized yield that is almost six times that of the S&P 500 index.
Mizuho Financial Group Inc. (MFG)
Market value: $62.7 billion Dividend yield: 2.9% Country: Japan
A leading bank in Asia, Mizuho has been the beneficiary of twin trends in the region. For starters, Japan’s gross domestic product outlook for 2024 has been positive, with growth projected to continue for the fourth year in a row after a rather stagnant run that plagued the country several years back. Furthermore, the island nation has become a lynchpin of global commerce between the East and West as talk of a trade war escalated with its neighbor China. The result is an uptrend that has lifted several financial stocks in Japan, with MFG tacking on 47% year to date. As for income, the stock pays dividends twice annually, in August and in March, so now is a decent time to consider getting in line for that payout in a few months.
NatWest Group PLC (NWG)
Market value: $41.2 billion Dividend yield: 4.3% Country: U.K.
Formerly known as the Royal Bank of Scotland, and with a history dating back to before the U.S. declared its independence, NatWest is a major financial institution that does business across the U.K. and Europe. The bank makes its money through familiar offerings like mortgage lending, business banking and investment services. This institution is analogous in many ways to more familiar domestic companies — it’s roughly the same size as Discover Financial Services (DFS) and regional financial stock M&T Bank Corp. (MTB). Improving fundamentals have helped to drive an impressive gain of more than 80% year to date, showing strong momentum as the stock enters 2025.
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Nokia Corp. (NOK)
Market value: $24 billion Dividend yield: 3.2% Country: Finland
Admittedly, Nokia is a stock that had been stuck in a long-term decline that began with the global financial crisis almost two decades ago and continued thanks to the disruptive mobile marketplace as Apple Inc. (AAPL) squeezed out almost every other mobile hardware maker.
But starting with the landmark Brexit vote of 2016 and accelerated by Russia’s invasion of nearby Ukraine in 2022, the European Union has been getting increasingly serious about what the region is calling “strategic autonomy.” That means prioritizing home-grown providers of critical infrastructure, from tech hardware to medial devices to sources of energy. Nokia has benefited nicely from this trend, given its expertise in network infrastructure, cloud services and related technology. The stock is up about 30% year to date in 2024, and a steady quarterly dividend adds a nice yield on top of that.
Novartis AG (NVS)
Market value: $200 billion Dividend yield: 3.8% Country: Switzerland
Swiss pharmaceuticals giant Novartis is a bit larger than U.S. health care giants Amgen Inc. (AMGN) and Pfizer Inc. (PFE). Its research is focused on areas including cardiovascular diseases, neuroscience and oncology. These specific areas lend themselves to maintenance drugs that generate consistent revenue from patients over time. For instance, its two leading blockbusters at present include anti-inflammatory psoriasis and arthritis drug Cosentyx and heart disease treatment Entresto. Share prices have admittedly struggled in 2024, but as patients around the world take regular trips to the drug store, NVS rakes in consistent revenue that fuels its consistent and generous dividends.
TC Energy Corp. (TRP)
Market value: $48 billion Dividend yield: 5.2% Country: Canada
TC Energy has jumped 20% year to date to keep pace with the S&P 500’s impressive returns even as other stocks north of the border have started to soften up on fears of trade wars between the U.S. and Canada. The reason TC Energy continues to hold firm is an extensive network of energy infrastructure, including 58,000 miles of natural gas pipelines. As a “midstream” energy leader, it is less exposed to the ups and downs of fossil fuel prices and instead makes its money as an intermediary between producers and end-users of energy. That reliability is evident in consistent and generous dividends, which have soared from 80 cents paid in 2000 to a pace of $3.84 in 2024.
Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri A.S. (TKC)
Market value: $6 billion Dividend yield: 3.3% Country: Turkey
After grappling with inflation a few years ago, Turkey’s economic outlook has cooled off a bit to “only” about 3% GDP growth forecast for 2024 and 2025. But it’s important to realize this development comes on the heels of a tremendous economic revolution in the nation, as the poverty rate decreased from above 20% in 2007 to 7.6% in 2021 according to International Monetary Fund data. The next steps for the economy have been shaky as a rising consumer class has fueled inflation as well as growth. But one segment that has continued to hold tremendous promise through it all is telecom, as more affluent citizens and more connected businesses put strains on digital infrastructure.
Turkcell is at the center of that trend, with revenue surging from 25 billion Turkish lira (TRY) in fiscal 2019 to more than 100 billion TRY in 2023 and an estimate of more than 200 billion TRY in fiscal year 2025. Keep in mind that due to rapid inflation in the country’s currency, and the lira’s depreciation against the U.S. dollar over that time, these revenue figures still represent growth, but nothing too impressive. There’s admittedly a lot of uncertainty in this international dividend stock, including its irregular payout schedule, but there’s also a lot of long-term potential.
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7 Best International Dividend Stocks for Diversification originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 12/17/24: This story was previously published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
