Monthly report: June 2025

The first half of 2025 has officially come to a close, and June didn’t disappoint in terms of market movement and dividend income surprises. As a dividend growth investor, I love reflecting on my portfolio’s performance—not just in terms of gains and losses, but especially the sweet stream of passive income that keeps compounding month after month.

Let’s break down what happened in June, how my portfolio fared, and how my dividend income compared to the same time last year.

Global Markets in June 2025

June was a mixed month across global markets:

• U.S. markets surged: The S&P 500 rose by +4.5% and the Dow Jones Total Return Index (DJITR) followed closely with a +4.3% gain, driven by continued strength in tech and industrials.
• International markets were more subdued: The global ETF IWDA ticked up +1.4%, showing steady global optimism.
• Europe lagged behind: The AEXGR fell -0.5%, while the Euro Stoxx 50 (SX5E) dropped -1.0%, largely due to mixed economic data and ongoing political uncertainty.
• U.S. stocks clearly took the spotlight, which also benefited my largely dollar-denominated portfolio.
  
  

Portfolio Movers: Top Gainers & Losers

Based on price changes in my holdings, here are the standouts for June:

Top 3 Gainers

• Brookfield Renewable (BEPC): +13%. A strong quarter and guidance upgrade boosted sentiment. Investors cheered improved cash flow and long-term growth potential in renewables.
• Texas Instruments (TXN): +13%. Chip stocks rallied on AI-driven demand optimism. TXN benefitted from increased exposure to automotive and industrial semis.
• Monolithic Power Systems (MPWR): +9%. Another semiconductor winner, riding the AI and efficiency wave. Solid earnings and upward revisions fueled the rally.

Top 3 Losers

• Unilever (UNA): -6%. Weak emerging market performance and currency headwinds weighed on results. Investors were unimpressed by flat volume growth.
• ADP & Bristol-Myers Squibb (AD, BMY): -5%. ADP declined slightly on valuation concerns, while BMY dropped after an FDA delay and guidance downgrade in its oncology pipeline.
• Ahold Delhaize (AD): -4%. European retail sentiment weakened, and AD followed broader European indices lower, mirroring the AEXGR’s -0.5% drop.

In my portfolio I had 22 holdings with a positive price return, and 15 holdings with a decline in price. That gives a winners-to-losers ratio of roughly 60%. A respectable outcome in a choppy month for global equities.

The average gain among winners is about 5% and the average loss among losers is -2.6%. This positive skew in return distribution is exactly what I aim for—steady gains with limited downside.

Dividend Income: Then vs. Now

Here's how my dividend income stacked up compared to June last year:

This sharp drop is explained by the absence of the dividend from Brink, my employer’s company, which paid just under € 2.400 last year. There will be a final dividend of about 10% more than last year. It iwll be paid in September so all is good on that front. 

Excluding this, my dividend still have grown with about 8%. Notable contributors include:

• Increased positions like BIPC and BEPC.
• New additions like CNI and NEE.
• INTC and IBM paid me last year as well, but I sold them.

All in all a decent month!

Final Thoughts

June 2025 demonstrates the resilience and growth of my international dividend portfolio. The USD income saw solid growth, and the winners outweighed the losers—not just in quantity, but in average performance as well. In the spirit of staying the course, I’ll leave you with a quote from John D. Rockefeller:

"Do you know the only thing that gives me pleasure? It's to see my dividends coming in."

Thanks for reading! Let me know how your June dividends went in the comments.