Been thinking about this a lot lately - dividend growth can actually outpace high yields over time if you're patient enough. The compounding effect is wild when you look at it over 10-20 years.

Right now there are some solid long term dividend stocks in tech that are worth keeping on your radar. Two that stand out are Broadcom and Microsoft, both crushing it with consistent double-digit dividend growth.

Broadcom's situation is pretty interesting. They're sitting on a $73 billion backlog for AI chips and networking gear - that's not small change. The company's been growing dividends at 12% annually over the past five years, and the math works out. If that pace holds, you're looking at a 2.39% yield on your original investment in 10 years, jumping to 7.43% in 20 years. That's the power of holding long term dividend stocks. They're only paying out about half their earnings as dividends too, so there's room to keep growing this.

Microsoft's another one worth watching for long term dividend investing. They've been increasing dividends 10% per year over the last five years and have this massive moat with over 450 million commercial seats in Microsoft 365. The enterprise software business is sticky - once companies are locked in, they stay locked in. Plus their AI positioning looks solid with things like Agent 365. Current yield is modest at 0.90%, but they're only paying out 22% of earnings, which means plenty of runway for future increases.

The thing about both these stocks is they're not flashy high-yield plays. They're the kind of holdings where you benefit from steady, predictable growth compounding over decades. If you're building a portfolio of long term dividend stocks for retirement income, tech companies like these are worth considering. The AI boom isn't going anywhere, and these businesses are positioned right in the middle of it.

Microsoft just reported 17% revenue growth last quarter on the back of strong enterprise demand. Broadcom's got the backlog to support continued growth. Neither of these is going to make you rich overnight, but that's kind of the point with this strategy. You're playing the long game, letting time do the work for you.