Want a Decade of Growing Passive Income? Buy This Dividend Growth Stock and Never Sell.

Dividend investing is a tried-and-true strategy for building long-term wealth. It may not be as sexy as buying the hottest hyper-growth stocks or cutting-edge technology companies, but dividend stocks can be the tortoise that drives steady portfolio wealth when looking at a multi-decade period. And it does take time. For example, if you buy a dividend stock yielding 2% that grows its dividend per share by 6% per year, it will be yielding just 3.6% in 10 years. But if that same compounding occurs for 30 years, your initial investment will be yielding over 11% at the end of the time period.

This may not seem like much for investors accustomed to fast-paced tech stocks, but you should remember that dividend growth stocks will be paying you out a cash payment every year that you can choose to keep in cash or reinvest in a dividend reinvestment program (DRIP). This is the steady compounding that can turn a boring stock into a millionaire-maker investment.

Perhaps the perfect dividend growth stock is Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT). The aerospace and defense contractor has grown its dividend payout at a steady rate, leading to a total return (including dividends) of close to 5,000% in the last 30 years. Here's why you should buy this dividend growth stock and never sell.

Lockheed Martin: The premier aerospace defense contractor

To understand Lockheed Martin, we need to understand the defense and aerospace government contract business. Typically, the U.S government will make a proposal for a technology or defense system (for example, a fighter jet) that private companies can bid on. There will also be subcontracts and the ability to sell these products to U.S. allies. Once these contracts are in place, they can last for many decades as the company builds, sells, and maintains these product platforms.

Lockheed Martin is the largest defense contractor in the U.S. with a focus on aerospace systems. It is the lead contractor for the F-35 fighter jet, which is the current-generation fighter jet that the U.S. government is spending hundreds of billions on over many decades. As one of the longest-standing defense contractors with a reputation for technological innovation, Lockheed was able to secure the F-35 deal over competitors such as Boeing.

On top of aerospace, Lockheed also has programs for space exploration, missiles, and mission systems. All four segments are profitable for Lockheed, generating a combined $8.5 billion in operating income in the last 12 months. With the long-term deals in place across these programs, Lockheed Martin has a massive backlog of $158 billion that will provide predictable earnings for many years into the future.