Firms with strong core earnings will be able to sustain their dividends. : If this is your first time registering, please check your inbox for more information about the benefits of your Forbes account and what you can do next! Cash is king, especially in a severe economic decline. Only firms with strong core earnings will be able to sustain their dividends. I do the diligence on core earnings to measure the reliability of dividend yields. I recently featured the Riskiest Dividend Yields. Safer dividend stocks are this week’s Long Idea. My firm’s Robo-Analyst[1] identifies firms with attractive dividend yields and the cash flows to sustain them.