A hospital in town plays a lullaby over the PA system throughout the building whenever a child is born in the Maternity Ward. Once, I was visiting my sick mother there and heard the pleasant tune and asked why it was playing. When I learned, I teared up a little. It is just a simple reminder that there are wonderful things in the world, even when things aren’t going so well.
As you might expect, I keep an eye on companies with long dividend increase streaks. So, it isn’t really a surprise when a company hits their 50th consecutive year of such increases, becoming a Dividend King. Do I tear up a little? No. But it is still a wonderful thing, even when the stock market doesn’t seem to care.
There’s a 76-year-old company that is doing what it has always done. Providing all sorts of materials for builders and DIYers all over the world. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if 50% of what I see in Home Depot or Lowe’s is produced by this company. Ever heard of Rust-Oleum? DAP? Kwik-Seal? Come on! Roto-Rooter? Sure, you have. Essentially this company is your friend whenever you’ve gotten yourself too deep into a home project. On October 5th, they made an announcement that makes them a Dividend King.
All hail RPM International Inc!
Bored
That’s not just a great metal tune by Death Angel, it happens to be how I feel about the long history of RPM International Inc [RPM]. I think it is a good thing. No one is talking about RPM. Elon Musk isn’t interested in buying them. It is never mentioned in the context of A.I. In fact, they make boring products that no one really wants to buy. But they have to, if they want something done right. See if you can make it through the following description.
According to Yahoo! Finance:
RPM International Inc. manufactures and sells specialty chemicals for the industrial, specialty, and consumer markets worldwide. It offers waterproofing, coating, and traditional roofing systems; sealants, air barriers, tapes, and foams; residential home weatherization systems; roofing and building maintenance services; sealing and bonding, subfloor preparation, flooring, and glazing solutions; resin flooring systems, polyurethane, MMA waterproof, epoxy floor paint and coatings, concrete repair, and protection products; fire stopping and intumescent steel coating, and manufacturing industry solutions; rolled asphalt roofing materials and chemical admixtures; concrete and masonry admixtures, concrete fibers, curing and sealing compounds, structural grouts and mortars, epoxy adhesives, injection resins, polyurethane foams, floor hardeners and toppings, joint fillers, industrial and architectural coatings, decorative color/stains/stamps, and restoration materials; insulated building cladding materials; and concrete form wall systems. It also provides polymer flooring systems; fiberglass reinforced plastic gratings and shapes; corrosion-control coating, containment and railcar lining, fire and sound proofing, and heat and cryogenic insulation products; specialty construction products; amine curing agents, reactive diluents, and epoxy resins; fluorescent colorants and pigments; shellac-based-specialty and marine coatings; fire and water damage restoration, carpet cleaning, and disinfecting products; fuel additives; wood treatments, coatings, and touch-up products; and nail enamels, polishes, and coating components. In addition, it offers solutions for the paint contractors and DIYers, concrete restoration and flooring, metallic and faux finish coatings, cleaners, and hobby paints and cements; and caulks, adhesives, insulating foams, and patches, as well as spackling, glazing, and repair products. The company was incorporated in 1947 and is headquartered in Medina, Ohio.
How can I add to that boredom? Do you want to know what RPM stands for? Republic Powdered Metals. That’s what its founder Frank C. Sullivan decided to call it all those decades ago. The first product was Alumanation and it is still sold today. I will say that I was excited to see that RPM was stoked about hitting this milestone. Rather than bury the news in their latest dividend declaration, they created a new menu line for it on their site. That’s awesome. That’s the sign of a company that has been a great investment for its shareholders and one that wants to continue to be great as well.
RPM becomes the 5th Dividend King from the Materials sector. Here is the list of all the Kings in the Materials sector and the Industry in which they conduct their business.
| Company | Ticker | Industry |
| H.B. Fuller Company | FUL | Chemicals |
| Nucor Corp | NUE | Metals & Mining |
| PPG Industries Inc | PPG | Chemicals |
| RPM International Inc | RPM | Chemicals |
| Stepan Co | SCL | Chemicals |
Even this chart is boring. The fact of the matter is, there is likely some overlap between the products the companies in the Chemicals Industry offer. These companies may consider each other competitors to some degree. I am certainly not going to waste a Saturday afternoon trying to figure it all out. Of more importance: there is plenty of room for these companies to have all been around for well over 50 years and when their prices are right, they make great investments. The Royal Dividends Portfolio for the Ages invested in PPG as its representative from the Materials sector. Fourteen months later, and that has proven to be a… decision. Including dividends, it is up 0.2% as of the time of this writing. I’m not unhappy about that, as simply not losing money in stock positions has been brutally difficult over the past two years.
But let’s not count out RPM as making the portfolio in the future. They appear to be fairly priced now, but sometimes Mr. Market is completely off his rocker. Until that fine day, the next time you’re on your hands and knees trying to put down a smooth bead of DAP around the bathtub at impossible angles because of the shite planning that went into the bathroom’s layout, thank RPM and be grateful that at least you have plenty of caulk to go around.