When you think of a “retirement” stock, certain things come to mind. Retirees need income, so their portfolios tend to be chock full of dividend stocks.
They also tend to prefer stable, established companies over new and unproven up-and-comers. Growth is important, but safety and stability are more important. Leave the flashy growth stocks to the kids.
The outperformance of dividend stocks is not random. Paying a dividend forces company management to be more disciplined.