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This is the fourth piece in a series examining “boring” large-cap stocks that have outperformed the Nasdaq-100 over the past five years. The first piece introduced the five companies and the data. The second piece covered defense and nuclear supplier Curtiss-Wright. The third looked at pipeline operator Williams Companies. This week: a company that makes seals, hoses and hydraulic pumps.
If you’re picturing a stock that recently caught fire, Parker-Hannifin (PH) isn’t it. The company is actually down year-to-date thus far in 2026. But it’s certainly entitled to a break. Over the past five years, the stock has exploded, even topping the returns of some popular tech stocks. As of June 10, 2026, PH’s 5-year total return with dividends reinvested sits at roughly 209.26%, almost double the Nasdaq-100’s 109.47% return over the same stretch. For income investors, PH has been a long-term winner as well, raising its dividend every year since 1956.
IMPORTANT: This article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Past performance does not guarantee future results. You should conduct your own research and consult a financial advisor before making any investment decisions.
‘BORING STOCKS’ SERIES
Part 1:These stocks crushed the Nasdaq-100 over past 5 years
Part 2:This stock has had a 500% return on investment
Part 3:Boring, quiet and beating the market
What Does Parker-Hannifin Do?
Parker-Hannifin is more than 100 years old, tracing its roots back to 1917. At the time, founder Arthur L. Parker was focused on pneumatic brake systems. A century later, the company now employs 58,000 people and generates close to $21 billion in annual revenue.
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Parker-Hannifin now has two primary business segments, Diversified Industrial and Aerospace Systems. The company makes the parts that move, seal, filter and control fluids and gases inside almost everything mechanical. It’s certainly not glamorous. Most end users never even think of the small parts that finish these products. But that business, it turns out, is steady, profitable work. The cash flow Parker-Hannifin generates is so predictable and consistent that the company has now increased its annual dividend for 70 consecutive fiscal years. That’s not very common. In fact, it’s by far the longest active dividend-growth streak of any stock in this series, and it puts Parker among the top five longest-running dividend increase records in the entire S&P 500.
Think about what that means. Through decades of economic and political upheaval, Parker-Hannifin has continued to raise its dividend. That doesn’t happen by accident. It only works if a company sells products that customers need, regardless of the current economic or geopolitical environment.
The Aerospace Story
Parker’s Aerospace Systems is booming, growing 14% year over year in the company’s fiscal third quarter. The company’s backlog reached a record $12.5 billion.
Backlogs are good for investors because they lock in revenue for years. This division services both commercial businesses and the U.S. military, giving it diversity of exposure. The military component is particularly steady, as defense budgets rarely shrink.
The Filtration and Data Center Angle
Here’s where Parker’s “boring” reputation runs into a very current trend. In November 2025, Parker announced a deal to acquire Filtration Group Corporation for $9.25 billion, a move the company says will create one of the largest global industrial filtration businesses in the world.
Filtration doesn’t sound like an AI story. But this rapidly emerging technology is built on more than just power and chips. Parker-Hannifin supplies air filtration equipment for the natural gas turbines that are being used to power artificial intelligence data centers. In late 2025, the company landed a contract to provide combustion and ventilation air intake filtration, power augmentation and acoustic silencing systems for nearly 30 gas turbines at the Stargate Site 1 data center project in Abilene, Texas, one of the largest AI infrastructure builds in the country.
The Numbers
Parker’s fiscal third quarter, reported April 30, 2026, gave investors plenty to like:
- Sales increased 11% to a record $5.5 billion, with organic sales up 6.5%
- Adjusted earnings per share rose 18%, to a record $8.17
- Adjusted segment operating margin reached 26.7%, also a record
- Total order rates grew 9%, led by 14% growth in Aerospace Systems
- Backlog hit a record $12.5 billion, with growth across both segments
Following those results, management raised its full-year fiscal 2026 outlook, now calling for organic sales growth of 5.5%, adjusted segment operating margin of 27.2%, and adjusted earnings per share of $31.20.
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What This Means for You
To be clear, this isn’t a recommendation to buy Parker-Hannifin going forward. The stock’s exceptional performance over the past five years does not predict its future returns. In fact, stocks that have dramatically outperformed over a number of years may have less potential upside ahead than they once did.
But even after its big run, Parker-Hannifin is well-positioned to benefit from the aerospace and defense buildout along with the AI data center boom. The company’s management is clearly determined to keep its dividend streak alive, something that should appeal to both income and growth investors.
The point of this exercise is to highlight that “boring” and “growing” aren’t mutually exclusive when it comes to stocks. A company with the rather mundane task of producing seals, hoses and filters can actually provide returns that top popular tech stocks like Apple.
Next week, we’ll look at a company that’s much more well-known by the average investor. In fact, it’s highly likely that you’ve visited one of the company’s warehouses, or at least heard the name. That company is Costco (COST), the warehouse retailer with a powerhouse stock that has trounced plenty of flashier names.
Disclaimer: This article is for educational purposes. The company mentioned is an example of a research thesis and should not be considered an investment recommendation. Past performance does not guarantee future results. All investments carry risk, including potential loss of principal. Consult a financial advisor before making any investment decisions. Performance figures are 5-year total returns with dividends reinvested, sourced from totalrealreturns.com as of market close on June 10, 2026.
This ‘boring but powerful’ stocks series is written by Nifty 50+ for TheStreet