Some research has shown that dividend-paying stocks significantly outperformed their non-dividend-paying peers over the past few decades, and that the lion's share of market returns can be attributed to reinvested dividends and compounding. Those are excellent arguments for investing in dividend stocks and holding on to them for a long time.

However, not all dividend-paying companies are equally attractive. Which ones should you consider? Two excellent options right now are Amgen (AMGN -3.32%) and Microsoft (MSFT 0.79%). Here's why these two income stocks are worth sticking with for good.

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1. Amgen

It's never a bad idea to turn to leading drugmakers like Amgen when looking for forever stocks. The business of developing and marketing innovative therapies for serious, sometimes life-threatening diseases will never go out of style until we find all-purpose cures for all conditions.

While individual drugmakers could fail, Amgen's business looks strong enough to avoid that fate for a long time. It boasts an extensive lineup of medicines, with over 10 that each generated upwards of $1 billion in sales in 2024. In the first quarter, revenue increased by a strong 9% year over year to $8.1 billion.

Amgen's lineup is diversified across several therapeutic areas, including oncology, immunology, rare diseases, and respiratory diseases. Key growth drivers (not an exhaustive list) include Tezspire, an asthma medication; Repatha, which treats high cholesterol; and blood-cancer medicine Blincyto.

Like every drugmaker, Amgen will, at some point, face patent cliffs that will erode sales of important products. The way to get around this issue is to develop newer medicines. Looking at the company's pipeline, it seems more than capable of doing so. It boasts a few dozen programs that should lead to label expansions and brand-new approvals.

The company has been working on a promising weight management candidate, MariTide. Though this product somewhat disappointed in phase 2 studies, it's still in the running to reach the market and generate decent sales, considering how rapidly the anti-obesity space is growing. Besides, Amgen is developing another weight loss candidate that's still in phase 1 studies.

Weight loss isn't the only area the biotech is going after; it has exciting products across others. In the biosimilar realm, it recently launched Pavblu, a competitor to Regeneron Pharmaceuticals' blockbuster, Eylea, which treats an eye condition called wet age-related macular degeneration. Amgen should be able to overcome future losses of patent exclusivity for key products, even if it goes through periods of declining sales as a result.

The stock should perform well in the long run and continue rewarding shareholders with regular dividends. The company has increased its payouts by 201% in the past decade so it currently offers a forward yield of 3.4% -- while the average for the S&P 500 is 1.3%. Amgen might not be as exciting as certain tech companies, but the stock looks like a strong buy-and-forget pick.

2. Microsoft

Microsoft's shares struggled for much of the year. The threat of tariffs and the fear that they could lead to an inflationary environment or a recession (or both) weighed on many tech giants, including Microsoft.

However, the company more or less put those fears to bed (for now) with its latest quarterly update, for the third quarter of its fiscal year 2025, ending March 31. Revenue jumped by 13% year over year to $70.1 billion.

The tech leader can thank its cloud computing arm, Microsoft Azure, for that performance; the segment's revenue jumped by 33% (or 35% in constant currency) compared to the year-ago period. And there's more where that came from. In its fourth quarter, Microsoft expects Azure revenue to increase 34% to 35% in constant currency.

So, despite economic uncertainty, the company is doing fine. The important lesson here isn't that its quarter was strong. It's that even during challenging times, Microsoft can perform relatively well. That's why the stock has thrived for decades, making longtime shareholders much wealthier.

Microsoft's ability to navigate tough periods is one factor that makes it an attractive forever stock. Here are two more. First, the company has a strong moat from its brand name and switching costs within its cloud and software productivity businesses. Second, it has attractive long-term growth opportunities; cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI) are the most exciting of the bunch.

That means that even with a market capitalization above $3 trillion, Microsoft still has a bright future, and the company's dividend looks safe. It might only have a forward yield of 0.8%, but the rock-solid underlying business, ability to generate plenty of cash, and consistent dividend growth record (it's increased its payouts by 168% over the past 10 years) more than make up for the low yield.

Microsoft is a top stock to hold on to for growth and income investors alike.