Third-quarter earnings season will start toward the third week of October. Although we can’t possibly know which firms will report upside surprises, we’re fairly confident that our Dividend Champions will be able to to maintain or grow their dividends. That’s because we selected these stocks specifically for their ability to sustain their dividends despite adverse business conditions.

Nevertheless, dividends are never guaranteed and are always at the discretion of the board of directors, who have a duty to ensure that their company is able to meet all its obligations before declaring a payout.

Despite a general upward trend in energy prices, our commodity-linked holdings, Finning International Inc. (TSX: FTT, OTC: FINGF), ShawCor Ltd. (TSX: SCL, OTC: SAWLF) and Suncor Energy Inc. (TSX: SU, NYSE: SU) are not expected to raise their dividends. These companies have done well to maintain their dividends through the commodity crash, but will want to rebuild reserves before hiking their payouts again.

Our other “problem children” that have not increased dividends for some time, namely RioCan REIT (TSX: REI-U, OTC: RIOCF), K-Bro Linen Inc. (TSX: KBL, OTC: KBRLF) and WestJet Airlines Ltd. (TSX:WJA, OTC: WJAVF) are not expected to do so this quarter either. However, if TMX Group Ltd. (TSX: X, OTC: TMXXF) posts a third consecutive quarter of double-digit earnings growth, then it could surprise investors with a dividend boost.

Most of our core holdings, including BCE Inc. (TSX: BCE, NYSE: BCE), Canadian National Railway Co. (TSX: CNR, NYSE: CNI), Telus Corp. (TSX: T, NYSE: TU), Fortis Inc. (TSX: FTS, OTC: FRTSF) and Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSX: TD, NYSE: TD), are projected to raise their dividends by between 5% and 20% year over year.

Expected reporting dates for each company are provided in the table below. Please note that some of these dates have yet to be confirmed. We will update this list as more information becomes available.