A dividend growth streak counts consecutive years of raises. Keeping one going takes cash flows steady enough to plan around, and boards say so in public: many UK companies describe a progressive dividend policy, an aim to hold or raise the dividend every year. In the US a dividend aristocrat is an S&P 500 member that has raised its dividend for at least 25 years in a row; index providers run similar lists elsewhere, each with its own rules.
The streak also becomes something to protect. A cut ends a record the company's own reports lean on, so a stretched business may borrow, sell assets or run its cover thin rather than reset — the point where the streak stops telling you about the business and starts telling you about the board. The app doesn't count streaks. Count the steps on a holding's dividend chart, which shows up to its last 30 payments, and read the payout ratio alongside it: a streak kept alive by a payout ratio that climbs every year is getting harder to keep.
A streak counts the direction, not the size. 22.1p keeps it alive as surely as 25p would.
Educational content only. It is not personal financial advice.