RPM International is making a name for itself among investors as a dividend champion, with 50 consecutive years of higher payouts. But it should also be known for something else: a decadeslong record of growth, fueled by acquisitions and a steady march to higher profits.
Consider the long-term record for the maker of coatings and building materials: The Medina, Ohio, company says that $1,000 invested in its stock 50 years ago, with dividends reinvested, would be worth more than $1.15 million today, compared with $178,000 for the S&P 500 index over the same period. With a fresh tailwind from new infrastructure projects, there’s more to come.
Selling its products in more than 160 countries, RPM is taking advantage of global economic trends. “You can see that in highway construction, you could see that in the onshoring of manufacturing, you can see that in some expansion in airports,” Chairman and CEO Frank C. Sullivan recently told analysts. “We see that having a pretty good runway” for the next 1½ to two years, he added.
Continue reading this article with a Barron’s subscription.
