SGX Stocks 2026: 3 Debt-Free Dividend Stocks with Growing Yields

 

What gives a company&rsquo s board the confidence to raise dividends?

There are many possible answers. 

But one of the most overlooked is a simple one: having zero debt on the balance sheet.

Think about it. When a company owes nothing to creditors, every dollar of cash it generates belongs to shareholders. There are no interest payments eating into profits. No loan repayments draining the coffers. 

Management can focus on growing the business &ndash and rewarding those who own it.

Here are three SGX-listed stocks that carry zero debt, sit on sizable cash piles, and raised their dividends for FY2025.

Sheng Siong Group (SGX: OV8)

Sheng Siong is one of Singapore&rsquo s largest supermarket operators, with 93 stores across Singapore and China as at 31 March 2026.

The retailer had a good FY2025. 

Revenue rose 9.9% year on year (YoY) to S$1.57 billion, fuelled by 12 new store openings &ndash its biggest expansion since 2018. 

Gross margin improved from 30.5% to 31.3% as the group sold more house-brand products. 

Net profit grew 8.7% YoY to S$149.5 million.

Free cash flow, the lifeblood of dividends, came in at S$215.8 million, up 7.5% YoY. 

And the balance sheet? Cash of S$435.5 million. Debt of zero.

With all that going for it, the board raised the total FY2025 dividend to S$0.070, up 9.4% from S$0.064 a year ago. 

At a share price of S$3.03 as at 28 May 2026, the trailing dividend yield works out to around 2.3%.

This is the textbook case. 

Earnings grew, cash flow grew, and dividends followed suit.

Venture Corporation (SGX: V03)

Venture is a technology solutions provider serving customers across life sciences, networking, semiconductor equipment, and lifestyle consumer domains.

FY2025 was a tougher year. 

Revenue fell 7.4% YoY to S$2.53 billion, dragged by softer demand in the Lifestyle Consumer segment and unfavourable currency movements. 

Net profit dipped 7.4% to S$227.0 million, though net margin held at 9.0%.

So why did the board raise the total dividend from S$0.75 to S$0.80? 

The answer lies in the balance sheet. 

Venture held S$1.28 billion in net cash with zero debt as at end-FY2025. Free cash flow, while lower at S$223.5 million, still covered the higher payout.

One caveat, though. 

The FY2025 dividend of S$0.80 included a special dividend of S$0.05. 

Strip that out, and the ordinary dividend stayed flat at S$0.75. 

The &ldquo growth&rdquo came from the company dipping into its cash reserves, not from higher earnings.

Still, there are reasons for optimism. 

Demand for AI-related infrastructure is picking up across Venture&rsquo s networking, test and measurement, and semiconductor equipment businesses. 

Management expects these early signs of recovery to strengthen through 2026.

At a share price of S$17.83 as at 28 May 2026, the trailing yield comes to around 4.5%.

SBS Transit (SGX: S61)

As Singapore&rsquo s largest bus operator, SBS Transit runs around 200 bus services and a fleet of some 3,400 buses, as well as rail services through the North East Line, Downtown Line, and two LRT systems.

The headline number for FY2025 is eye-catching: total dividends jumped 73.0% YoY to S$0.4960 per share. 

But look closer.

Of that S$0.4960, a whopping S$0.3199 came from a special dividend. 

Ordinary dividends &ndash an interim of S$0.0895 and a final of S$0.0866 &ndash totalled just S$0.1761. 

At a share price of S$3.50 as at 28 May 2026, the ordinary dividend yield is around 5.0%.

How could SBS Transit afford such a large special payout? 

Once again, the balance sheet tells the story. 

Cash of S$384.3 million. No debt. And free cash flow that surged to S$104.3 million, up from just S$21.5 million a year ago.

The operations side is less clear-cut. 

Revenue slipped 2.7% to S$1.5 billion, and net profit fell 13.0% to S$61.2 million. 

The loss of the Jurong West bus package hurt, and another setback looms with the Tampines package set to go from July 2026. 

Rail operations, at least, continue to benefit from higher ridership and fare adjustments.

Get Smart: What zero debt really means for dividends

All three companies share one thing in common &ndash zero debt and plenty of cash. 

That combination gave each board the room to raise dividends in FY2025, even when the operating environment was far from perfect.

But as fellow investors, we should always look beneath the headline dividend figure. 

Special dividends may not come around again at the same level. 

The most dependable dividend growth comes from companies that raise their ordinary payouts year after year, backed by growing free cash flow.

A debt-free balance sheet is a great starting point. 

But it is the quality and consistency of the underlying cash flow that keeps dividends going.

 

Disclosure: The Smart Investor owns shares of Sheng Siong.

Stop Watching the Tickers: 5 Stocks to &ldquo Buy and Forget&rdquo for a Decade

 

 

Building long-term wealth isn&rsquo t about watching stock tickers, chasing headlines, or reacting to every price movement daily.

Instead, it is about owning quality businesses that you can &ldquo buy and forget.&rdquo  

What &ldquo Buy and Forget&rdquo Really Means

To be sure, taking this stance does not mean you should ignore your investments after you buy them. 

It simply means selecting businesses that you can trust for the long run.

You hold them through market cycles and allow compounding to do its work instead of reacting to short-term noise. 

Compounding is something that should be left to work for years and not weeks, let alone days. 

What Makes a Stock Suitable for Long-Term Holding

Stocks with a strong economic moat that can protect their earnings are candidates for long-term investing. 

Another plus point is when the company focuses on long-term value creation and not short-term gains. 

Additionally, these high-quality picks will also have a history of consistent earnings growth.
 

DBS Group &mdash The Global Platform Leader

DBS Group (SGX: D05) became Southeast Asia&rsquo s largest bank in 1998.

Today, it has operations spanning 19 markets with a keen focus on Greater China, Southeast Asia and South Asia, a network that is hard to match. 

For the full year of 2025 (FY2025), DBS achieved a record total income of S$22.9 billion. 

The local bank didn&rsquo t lose any steam heading into the first quarter of 2026 (1Q2026) with total income reaching a new high of almost S$6 billion. 

That&rsquo s despite net interest income (NII) slipping 5% YoY due to a lower net interest margin. 

DBS is still no doubt the leader among our local banks. 

Its current market cap of S$171 billion, as of 14 May 2026, is ahead of Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (SGX: O39), or OCBC, and United Overseas Banking (SGX: U11), or UOB, which reported market capitalisations of S$103 billion and S$62 billion respectively. 

But wait, there&rsquo s more to consider. 

DBS is not just the largest &mdash it has scored a return on equity (ROE) of 17% for 1Q2026 on an annualised basis, easily beating OCBC (13%) and UOB (11.5%). 

ST Engineering &mdash The Dividend Growth Blue Chip

Global technology and defence powerhouse, ST Engineering (SGX: S63) or STE, is backed by government contracts and long-term aviation maintenance.

The company won S$18.7 billion worth of new contracts in 2025, and ended the year with a massive order book of S$33.2 billion. 

The conglomerate has not slowed down in 2026, securing an additional S$4.8 billion in new contracts across its business segments in the first three months of the year. 

Having a multi-year order book allows the company to &ldquo lock in&rdquo years of future work, providing highly visible and stable income for the next few years.

To improve total shareholder return, STE intends to distribute one-third of any YoY profit increase as incremental dividends.

The group has displayed continuous dividend increments over the years. 

Total dividends for 2025 amounted to S$0.23 per share, a 35% increase over the 2024 dividend of S$0.17, and a 44% increase compared to the S$0.16 paid in 2023.

Notably, 2025&rsquo s dividend included a S$0.05 special dividend.

​ Venture Corp &mdash The Structural Growth Leader

Venture Corp (SGX: V01) serves as a strategic partner and manufacturer for global giants in key sectors such as life sciences and advanced networking.

With the worldwide push for better medical technology and rising complexity of semiconductor testing, Venture Corp is well-positioned to benefit from the increasing sector demand. 

As of 31 March 2026 (the end of 1Q2026), the company has a net cash position of S$1 billion. 

This substantial cash surplus has been sustained even after accounting for consistent dividend payouts and share buybacks, reflecting the company&rsquo s ability to grow. 

Sheng Siong &mdash The Defensive Compounder

As a classic all-weather stock, Sheng Siong (SGX: OV8) remains resilient regardless of the economy as daily groceries and household essentials never go out of style.

In fact, when times get tough, consumers cut down on dining out and eat at home instead. 

And where do they go to get cheaper groceries? 

That&rsquo s right &mdash Sheng Siong. 

The company&rsquo s performance backs this up. 

In 2025, revenue rose by nearly 10% YoY to S$1.6 billion, while maintaining a gross profit margin of 31.3%. 

The momentum continued into 1Q2026, with revenue jumping 12.4% YoY to S$452.8 million even as the gross profit margin slipped slightly to 31%. 

Additionally, the supermarket chain holds over S$461.1 million in cash and cash equivalents with zero debt. 

Combined with a consistent gross profit margin of approximately 30%, Sheng Siong is clearly capable of providing long-term investors with predictable cash flows and stable dividends.

Keppel DC REIT &mdash The Scalable Challenger

As of 31 December 2025, Keppel DC REIT (SGX: AJBU) has 25 data centres across Asia-Pacific and Europe valued at S$6.3 billion. 

With a portfolio occupancy of 95.8% and a weighted average lease expiry (WALE) of 6.7 years as of the end of 1Q2026, tenants are locked in for the long haul.

Plus, a built-in rental escalation clause tied to inflation has been implemented to help offset any costs that may eat into unitholder returns.

With technology giants like Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) pouring billions into artificial intelligence (AI), global data centre capacity is expected to double by 2030.

Keppel DC REIT has intentionally focused on stabilised assets in supply-constrained markets, allowing its assets to benefit from the &ldquo supply squeeze.&rdquo

Established players like Keppel DC REIT can keep occupancy high and leasing conditions favourable.

Why Most Investors Struggle to &ldquo Hold for a Decade&rdquo

More often than not, when the stock prices fall, investors&rsquo loss aversion instinct kicks in and they end up panic selling. 

Investors who get swayed will make impulsive decisions that negatively impact their long-term goals.

Usually those who fail to do their due diligence before investing find it hard to remain invested.

Without a solid understanding of the business, they lack the foundation necessary to justify holding their position when things get shaky.

The secret to long-term holding is very simple.

Just shift your focus from daily price changes to underlying business performance.

Stop monitoring your portfolio constantly &ndash you only need to review your holdings periodically, say every six months, to ensure your investment thesis remains intact.

Get Smart: Wealth Is Built in the Waiting

When you plant a seed, watching it closely every day wouldn&rsquo t make the plant grow faster. 

The true source of wealth is not constant activity, but rather the product of owning high-quality businesses over extended periods.

The real challenge of investing only begins after you have identified the right stocks. 

It lies in having the discipline to &ldquo let go&rdquo and allow their performance to deliver powerful results over time.