The Ultimate Dividend Growth Stock to Buy With $1,000 Right Now

By James Brumley – Mar 15, 2026 at 9:07AM ESTKey PointsContrary to a common assumption, not all dividend-paying investments are the same.One category of income investments is perfectly suited to capitalize on a crucial sliver of the AI revolution.This company has already more than proven its mettle as a reliable income payer, as well as a reliable dividend grower.Are you looking for a great dividend-paying stock you can buy right now and hold on to indefinitely? Proven income-generating names like Coca-Cola and Duke Energy are always viable options. If you're looking for a name that's not only built to last but also built to seriously grow its dividend payment, however, consider something that's already well established in a young industry that's also poised to grow -- a lot -- for the foreseeable future ... a name like Equinix (EQIX 0.16%). Image source: Getty Images. What's Equinix? It's not a household name. But there's a very good chance you or someone living in your household regularly benefits from its service. Equinix operates more than 270 data centers in 77 different locales, serving over 300 Fortune 500 companies. It did $9.2 billion worth of business last year, turning $1.35 billion of that into net income, and extending single-digit-but-steady growth that's been in place for nearly three decades now. Perhaps more relevant today, Equinix offers a whole lineup of artificial intelligence (AI) solutions like AI training (including inference), autonomous service agents, and more. This, of course, has been and should remain a major growth driver. An outlook from Precedence Research suggests the worldwide AI data center industry is poised to grow at an average annualized pace of more than 27% through 2035. ExpandNASDAQ: EQIXEquinixToday's Change(-0.16%) $-1.58Current Price$969.89Key Data PointsMarket Cap$95BDay's Range$963.50 - $982.8752wk Range$701.41 - $992.90Volume24KAvg Vol633KGross Margin31.50%Dividend Yield1.98% However, this tailwind isn't the only reason you might want to consider stepping into this stock while its forward-looking dividend yield stands at 2.2%. It's not even the crux of the reason; 2.2% isn't an especially high yield anyway. Neither is its 11 consecutive years of per-share payment growth. Rather, Equinix is a compelling income prospect because it's structured in such a way that's ideal for the nature of the business it's in. The ideal structure for this business, and this goal That structure is a real estate investment trust, or REIT, for short. While REITs trade on stock exchanges, these are actually companies that own revenue-bearing real estate. This real estate is typically properties like apartment complexes, office buildings, or shopping centers. It can also be data centers, though, which similarly produce recurring monthly income. REITs enjoy a distinct advantage that most conventional companies don't. That is, as long as at least 90% of any profits are passed along to shareholders in the form of dividends, it isn't first taxed at the corporate level. They must pay out most of their earnings as dividends, in fact, to maintain their tax-friendly classification. This ultimately means REIT owners get to keep more of whatever recurring rent-based profits the underlying company is producing. And Equinix is certainly producing plenty of both. Of last year's per-share adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) -- a measure similar to non-GAAP (adjusted) income for conventional companies -- of $38.33, $18.76 was distributed as dividends. These numbers were up 9% and 10% year over year, respectively, easily outgrowing the sort of dividend growth you'd be getting from the aforementioned Duke Energy or Coca-Cola. Indeed, you'd be hard-pressed to find more dividend growth from any investment option with a similar low-risk profile.Read NextMar 11, 2026 •By James HiresThis Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stock Just Projected $10 Billion in Revenue for 2026. Here's Why It's Just Getting Started.Mar 3, 2026 •By James BrumleyThis AI Data Center REIT Just Guided for Its First $10 Billion Revenue Year. Is It a Buy for 2026?Feb 7, 2026 •By Matt DiLalloThis Datacenter REIT Could Double as Hyperscalers Spend $500 Billion in 2026Feb 2, 2026 •By Leo SunAI Spending Doubles: Why This $500 Billion Boom Makes Equinix a Buy for 2026Jan 27, 2026 •By Matt Frankel, CFPWorried About AI Stock Valuations? This REIT Trades at a Fraction of the Price.Nov 23, 2025 •By Matt DiLallo2 AI Data Center Stocks to Buy Right NowAbout the AuthorJames Brumley is a contributing Motley Fool stock market analyst covering consumer staples and consumer discretionary stocks. James is a former licensed stockbroker with Charles Schwab, and a registered investment adviser. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business management with a specialization in finance from Transylvania University.TMFjbrumleyX@jbrumleyStocks MentionedEquinixNASDAQ: EQIX$969.90(-0.16%)-$1.57*Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close.