2022 made clear that the long-running bull market of the prior decade is over. In the current volatile economic atmosphere, traders and investors have been piling money into safer stocks, including dividend stocks. Dividend stocks offer some cushion during rough times because investors still derive some benefit from dividends, which provide passive income regardless of stock price movements (unless a severe economic swing results in a dividend cut or suspension). The dividends also tend to make the trading of those stocks less volatile.

Heading into 2023, there's one dividend stock that stands out for me as a great one to own, although many investors don't think of it as a dividend stock. Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST) has been a steady winner in stock price appreciation over many years, and it's well-positioned to keep gaining this year and beyond. It also happens to pay a nice dividend.

Costco charges its shoppers an annual fee for access to its warehouse of (often discounted) goods for sale. For most people, the yearly savings they get from shopping at Costco instead of at other retail outlets far exceeds the price of the membership. Costco enjoys the recurring revenue stream from these annual fees that basically go straight to the bottom line, with a small markup on products to cover most of its expenses.

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Source Fool.com