Jan '26 dividend portfolio update: a promising start to 2026
In the absence of any results statements for January, I review trading updates from seven of my income stocks, including upgrades from two FTSE 250 firms and two small caps with 8% dividend yields.
Welcome to my first monthly update of 2026. Any comments on market conditions run the risk of becoming quickly outdated, but at the time of writing the UK market has made a fairly perky start to the year:
- FTSE 100 YTD: +2.8%
- FTSE 250 YTD: +3.7%
- FTSE SmallCap ex-ITs YTD: +5.9%
I hope your portfolios have also enjoyed a positive beginning to 2026.
These monthly reviews normally only cover interim and full year results, not trading updates (unless they are particularly dramatic). However, none of the companies in my portfolio issued results in January, so in order to avoid skipping a month I've opted for a different format.
Seven of my companies issued trading updates in January, representing around 37% of the model portfolio by value. These included a mix of in line statements, upgrades and mild downgrades:
- Three companies trading in line with expectations - including two niche financials with 8%+ yields and a high-quality FTSE 100 stock;
- Two companies trading ahead of expectations – both are FTSE 250 stocks with leading reputations in their respective markets;
- Two (mild) downgrades – a UK retailer I rate highly and a manufacturer that's exposed to sluggish economic growth in a number of markets. Both are very minor downgrades (so far).
In the remainder of this update, I'm going to summarise the news from each. I'll take a more detailed look at them when they publish interim or full-year accounts in due course.
Normal service will resume in February, when I expect a number of results to be published.
As a quick reminder, my model dividend portfolio broadly mirrors the shares in my main personal portfolio, although position sizing and cost will vary for practical reasons.
Please note that my comments reflect my personal views and are not investment advice or recommendations. Please do your own research and seek professional advice if needed. Full disclaimer here.
For an explanation of my Quality Dividend score, see here.
In this month's report
Here is the full list of January trading updates from my portfolio companies. Please click on the links or scroll down for a short summary of the news from each of these stocks:
