When examined over multiple decades, few investing strategies are as profitable as buying dividend stocks.

Companies that dole out a regular payout to their shareholders tend to be profitable on a recurring basis, time-tested, and can offer transparent long-term growth outlooks. Income stocks may not jaw-drop investors with their growth rates, but they're precisely the type of businesses we'd expect to increase in value over the long run.

Dividend stocks also offer a history of outperformance. A comprehensive study from J.P. Morgan Asset Management, the wealth management division of JPMorgan Chase, found that companies initiating and growing their dividends delivered a 9.5% annualized return between 1972 and 2012, compared to just 1.6% on an annualized basis for nonpaying public companies over the same stretch.

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Source Fool.com