Copyright fool
Some investing decisions are tough to make. Others are practically no-brainers that don't require hours of analysis. I see two top-notch dividend stocks in this market that fall into that category. Here's why dividend investors should consider grabbing some Toyota Motor (TM 2.17%) and Texas Instruments (TXN +0.71%) shares right now. They're even simpler picks since I'm analyzing these stocks -- so you don't have to. Toyota Motor: 3.2% yield I know, I know -- these aren't exactly new names. Toyota was founded way back in 1937, has decades of car-building experience, and often dominates global vehicle sales. The company delivered 1.60 million cars to U.S. customers in the first three quarters of 2025, just ahead of Ford (F +0.90%) at 1.57 million and way in front of Tesla's (TSLA +0.60%) 404,500 vehicles. Toyota may seem like a strange dividend pick. Japanese companies generally aren't as committed to consistent dividend growth as American dividend payers. As such, Toyota adjusts its payouts to fit its cash-generating results rather than building long-term streaks of annual payout increases. For example, Toyota reduced its payout in response to the inflation-based financial crisis of 2022 and the financial turmoil in 2008. That being said, Toyota is enjoying strong sales and steady cash flows right now, and its dividend payouts have never been higher. You can't "lock in" the rich dividend yield in Toyota, the way you can with streak-driven American dividend stocks, but this payout policy is as solid as they come. The mass-market Toyota and luxury-oriented Lexus brands are masters of their domains. Sure, the world is turning to electric vehicles like never before, but you don't have to settle for Prius-style hybrids at the Toyota dealership anymore. The Toyota bZ4X offers a lower-cost alternative to the Tesla Model Y. The Lexus RZ can match spec sheets with higher-end electrics like fully loaded Tesla Model Y or a Polestar 4. So Toyota is prepared for sharp turns in the road ahead. I trust this dividend to stay strong for decades to come, falling back when Toyota needs to conserve cash for a while. This company may never be a dividend king with at least 50 straight years of annual payout boosts, but that's OK. Honestly, I'd rather see companies paying the dividends they can afford instead of focusing on a numerical streak. Texas Instruments: 3.4% yield And you know this name, too. Texas Instruments has been around since 1930, playing a key role in the history of semiconductors. You probably used a TI calculator in high school, no matter which decade that was. TI isn't quite a dividend king, either, but it has pursued those long-term streaks since 2004. The company looks likely to continue its payout-boosting ways for the foreseeable future. I know I just called Toyota's dividend attitude better in some ways, but Texas Instruments does business in a different culture and is broadly expected to keep the increases coming. The company does a great job of living up to these expectations. So it's a more straightforward dividend investment than Toyota's sophisticated approach. Texas Instruments tries very hard to boost its payouts every year, through thick or thin. Free cash flows have been running low since 2022, but are trending strongly higher in recent quarters, and management actively works to produce stronger cash flows per share over time. Industrial chip sales are surging along with robust sales of analog and embedded processors. Many of TI's target industries have been working through bloated chip inventories in recent years, but that trend is ending. The stock market hasn't been kind to Texas Instruments shares in 2025, and the stock price has fallen 21.2% over the last 52 weeks. With reinvested dividends, you're looking at a total return of negative 18.6% instead. Those payouts make a real difference, especially in the long run. This looks like a great time to bet on a Wall Street turnaround for this semiconductor veteran -- actually locking in an abnormally high dividend yield for the long haul.
