Agilent Technologies

Agilent Technologies makes the instruments, software and consumables that laboratories use to analyse chemicals and biological samples, serving pharmaceutical, diagnostics, food and environmental customers. A large share of its revenue comes from recurring services and reagents, which cushions the cyclical swings of instrument sales and gives the business a dependable core. Agilent has paid and increased its dividend consistently since separating from Hewlett-Packard, funded by healthy margins and steady free cash flow. The yield is low, so the stock is better understood as a quality compounder than an income vehicle, with capital returned through a mix of modest dividend growth and buybacks. Its mid-range profile reflects reliability and rising payouts rather than a high starting yield.