Three Safe Dividend-Paying Stocks Releasing Earnings Next Week

Many investors are weary about

because of a weak economy and the crises in Europe. Here are three stocks that have historically beat earnings and pay dividends.

American Express is reporting earnings after the market closes on July 18. The credit card company

the first quarter of the fiscal year 2012. It also beat earnings for every quarter in the fiscal year of 2011. For its 2012 first quarter results, American Express increased its first quarter net income by 7 percent and increased total revenues net of interest expense by 8 percent compared to the comparable period last year. The company also increased its earnings by 10 percent, from $0.97 in the prior year's quarter to $1.09 per share. Another sign that the company is faring well is an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.18 per share to $0.20 per share on March 26, 2012. American Express has paid dividends since 1989. The Fed additionally reported recently that May consumer credit grew by 8 percent, the most this year, increasing by $17.1 billion. Shares of American Express closed down 0.53 percent Wednesday at $57.64. The stock is up over 23 percent year to date.

Verizon Communications is set to report earnings next week on July 19 before the market opens. Verizon announced earnings of $0.59 per share in the first quarter of 2012, compared to analyst estimates of $0.57 per share. For the first quarter of 2012, Verizon increased its diluted earnings per share by 15.7 percent. The company also had a 4.6 percent year-over-year increase in revenues during the quarter. On June 7, Verizon declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share. The company has paid out a dividend consistently since 1987. Along with continuing its dividend, Verizon acquired Hughes Telematics for $612 million in cash in the second quarter for $12 per share. The telecommunications industry has been one of the strongest sectors of 2012 - these companies additionally have high dividend yields, and most of their cash flow is from the U.S. Since Verizon reported its last earnings on April 19, the stock is trading up over 19 percent. Shares of the company closed Wednesday at $44.90, up 0.45 percent from Tuesday's market close.

C.R. Bard is

its earnings on July 18 at an estimate of $1.64 per share. C.R. Bard has beaten or met analyst estimates for earnings since 2009. During the first quarter of 2012, C.R. Bard had earnings of $1.61 per share, beating analyst estimates of $1.57 per share. Along with beating first quarter earnings, the company announced a $500 million share repurchase program on June 13. On the same day, C.R. Bard increased its quarterly dividend on its common stock by 5 percent to $0.20 per share. After reporting first quarter results, company Chairman and CEO Timothy M. Ring felt confident of future growth stating in a company release that, "The results this quarter reflect a good start to the year. While we haven't seen much change in the U.S. environment, our increased focus and investments in international markets have provided rapid returns and strengthened our growth profile. We remain focused on daily execution of our product leadership strategy to take advantage of current opportunities while positioning ourselves for stronger growth in the future." Shares of C.R. Bard closed Wednesday up 0.73 percent at $106.45. The stock is up over 24 percent in 2012.