The S&P 500 Yield Is the Lowest in History: 5 Members of the Legacy Index Yield 6% or More

By Lee Jackson Published Aug 12, 8:15AM EDT

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The S&P 500's combined dividend yield hit a record-low 1.04%, but five index members still deliver dividends of 6% or more, all rated Buy.
General Mills (GIS) yields 6.9% at just 10x 2026 earnings, while Verizon (VZ) has raised its dividend for 20 consecutive years.
Since 1926, dividends have contributed 32% of the S&P 500's total return, and payers have delivered more than double the returns of non-payers.
Dunkin’ was acquired for $11B. JDE Peet's IPO’d at $17B. And Starbucks today is valued at a $110B market cap. Green Coffee Company wants to be the next great investment. They control the entire supply chain from seed to sale, and now you can invest. Read more here. (sponsored)

This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.

The S&P 500 Yield Is the Lowest in History: 5 Members of the Legacy Index Yield 6% or More — © Deemerwha studio / Shutterstock.com

Investors love S&P 500 dividend stocks because they provide dependable passive income streams and an excellent opportunity for solid total return. Total return includes interest, capital gains, dividends, and distributions realized over time. In other words, the total return on an investment or portfolio consists of income and stock appreciation. At 24/7 Wall St., we have focused on dividend stocks for over 15 years because, despite the stock market’s ups and downs, many people need reliable passive income streams to supplement their income from employment or other sources such as Social Security and pensions.

We discovered that the legendary legacy index as a whole has the combined yields on the 500-member stocks at its lowest level ever, a paltry 1.04%. While that is a nice addition to owning 500 stocks, the reality for many investors is that they are looking for growth and income, with dividends higher than that. We decided to screen the S&P 500 index stocks for the highest-yielding companies and found five that pay dividends of 6% or more. While likely better suited for growth and income investors with a somewhat higher risk profile, all are companies that have been around for decades and are likely to maintain their current dividend payouts. Plus, all five are rated Buy at top Wall Street firms.

Why Do We Cover the Highest-Yielding S&P 500 Dividend Stocks?

Since 1926, dividends have accounted for approximately 32% of the S&P 500’s total return, while capital appreciation has accounted for 68%. Therefore, sustainable dividend income and the potential for capital appreciation are essential to total return expectations. A study by Hartford Funds, in collaboration with Ned Davis Research, found that dividend stocks delivered an annualized return of 9.18% over 50 years (1973 to 2023). Over the same timeline, this was more than double the annualized return for non-payers (3.95%).

Altria

Altria (NYSE: MO | MO Price Prediction) is one of the world’s largest producers and marketers of cigarettes and other tobacco-related products. This stock offers value investors a great entry point. The company manufactures and sells smokable and oral tobacco products in the United States. Altria is the undisputed yield leader among consumer staples Dividend Kings.

Altria leads its peer group with a high yet secure 626% dividend yield, backed by a stable 82% cash payout ratio. The company’s core strength relies on Marlboro, which holds a durable 40% share of the U.S. cigarette market and leverages pricing power to offset volume declines. Additionally, Altria’s low beta of 0.51 provides defensive, low-volatility insulation during broader market downturns.

The company primarily sells cigarettes under the Marlboro brand, as well as:

Cigars and pipe tobacco, principally under the Black & Mild and Middleton brands
Moist smokeless tobacco and snus products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands
on! Oral nicotine pouches
e-vapor products under the NJOY ACE brand

It sells its tobacco products primarily to wholesalers, including distributors and large retail organizations, such as chain stores.

Altria used to own over 10% of Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE: BUD), the world’s largest brewer. In March of 2024, the company sold 35 million of its 197 million shares through a global secondary offering. That represents 18% of its holdings but still leaves 8.1% of the outstanding shares in its back pocket. Altria also announced a $2.4 billion stock repurchase plan partially funded by the sale.

UBS has a Buy rating with a $79 price target.

Pfizer

Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) was established in 1849 in New York by two German entrepreneurs. This top pharmaceutical stock was a major winner in the COVID-19 vaccine race but has since declined significantly. However, Pfizer’s recovery story is gaining traction, with blockbuster non-COVID drugs delivering strong growth and a potential GLP-1 product launch on the horizon. It pays a dependable 6.4% dividend, which has increased annually for the past 15 years.

The company reported Q2 2026 revenue of $15.03 billion and adjusted EPS of $0.77, both beating Wall Street estimates of $14.4 billion and $0.68.

Pfizer discovers, develops, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells biopharmaceutical products worldwide in various therapeutic areas, including:

Cardiovascular, metabolic, and women’s health under the Premarin family and Eliquis brands
Biologics, small molecules, immunotherapies, and biosimilars under the Ibrance, Xtandi, Sutent, Inlyta, Retacrit, Lorbrena, and Braftovi brands
Sterile injectable and anti-infective medicines and oral COVID-19 treatment under the Sulperazon, Medrol, Zavicefta, Zithromax, Vfend, Panzyga, and Paxlovid brands

Pfizer also provides medicines and vaccines in other therapeutic areas, such as:

Pneumococcal disease, meningococcal disease, and tick-borne encephalitis
COVID-19 under the Comirnaty/BNT162b2, Nimenrix, FSME/IMMUN-TicoVac, Trumenba, and the Prevnar family brands
Biosimilars for chronic immune and inflammatory diseases under the Xeljanz, Enbrel, Inflectra, Eucrisa/Staquis, and Cibinqo brands
Amyloidosis, hemophilia, and endocrine diseases under the Vyndaqel/Vyndamax, BeneFIX, and Genotropin brands

Guggenheim has a Buy rating with a $31 target price.

VICI Properties

Vici Properties (NYSE: VICI) is a real estate investment trust based in New York City that specializes in casino and entertainment properties. It pays a stellar dividend yield of 6.78%. This is one of the top picks across Wall Street in the net lease group and is ideal for more conservative investors seeking gaming exposure and a substantial dividend. VICI Properties is an S&P 500 experiential real estate investment trust with one of the largest portfolios of market-leading gaming, hospitality, and entertainment destinations, including three iconic entertainment facilities on the Las Vegas Strip:

Caesars Palace Las Vegas
MGM Grand
The Venetian Resort Las Vegas

VICI Properties owns 93 experiential assets across a geographically diverse portfolio of 54 gaming properties and 39 other experiential properties across the United States and Canada. The portfolio comprises approximately 127 million square feet and features approximately 60,300 hotel rooms, as well as over 500 restaurants, bars, nightclubs, and sportsbooks. Gaming revenue has proven remarkably resilient in recent downturns, and its triple-net lease structure means it collects rent regardless of tenant profitability swings.

VICI Properties has a growing array of real estate and financing partnerships with leading operators in other experiential sectors, including:

Bowlero
Cabot
Canyon Ranch
Chelsea Piers
Great Wolf Resorts
Homefield
Kalahari Resorts

VICI Properties also owns four championship golf courses and 33 acres of undeveloped and underdeveloped land adjacent to the Las Vegas Strip.

Cantor Fitzgerald has an Overweight rating with a $32 target price.

General Mills

With products that never go out of style and a strong 6.55% dividend yield, this is a rebound story that will reward patient investors. General Mills (NYSE: GIS) is a global manufacturer and marketer of branded consumer foods, and trades at a cheap 10.4 times estimated 2026 earnings. Its segments include:

North America Retail
International
North America Pet
North America Foodservice

The North America Retail segment reflects business with a variety of grocery stores, mass merchandisers, membership stores, natural food chains, drug, dollar, and discount chains, convenience stores, and e-commerce grocery providers. The International segment consists of retail and foodservice businesses outside the United States and Canada. Its product categories include super-premium ice cream and frozen desserts, meal kits, salty snacks, snack bars, dessert and baking mixes, and shelf-stable vegetables.

The North America Pet segment includes pet food products sold in the United States and Canada in national pet superstore chains, e-commerce retailers, and grocery stores. The North America Foodservice segment product categories include ready-to-eat cereals, snacks, and baking mixes.

Piper Sandler has an Overweight rating and a $41 target price.

Verizon

Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) is an American multinational telecommunications company that continues to offer tremendous value. It trades at 9.13 times its estimated 2026 earnings and pays a 6% dividend. Verizon provides a range of communications, technology, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and government entities worldwide.

Verizon’s trailing 12-month interest coverage ratio is 4.6× to 5×, providing ample cushion for dividend payments. With a very predictable revenue stream from telecom services, the company has less exposure to commodity cycles. In addition, the large scale helps in financing and absorbing shocks. Publish rep[orts indicate that management has increased the dividend for 20 consecutive years and expects at least $21.5 billion in free cash flow this year.

It operates in two segments. The Consumer segment provides wireless services across the United States through Verizon and TracFone networks, as well as through wholesale and other arrangements. It also provides fixed wireless access (FWA) broadband through its wireless networks and related equipment and devices, such as:

Smartphones
Tablets
Smartwatches
Other wireless-enabled connected devices

The segment also offers wireline services in the Mid-Atlantic and northeastern United States through its fiber-optic network, Verizon Fios product portfolio, and copper-based network.

The Business segment provides wireless and wireline communications services and products, including:

FWA broadband
Data
Video and conferencing
Corporate networking
Security and managed network
Local and long-distance voice

Network access services to deliver various IoT services and products to businesses, government customers, and wireless and wireline carriers in the United States and internationally.

TD Cowen has a Buy rating with a $56 target price.

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This is a paid advertisement for Green Coffee Company's Regulation A offering. Please read the offering circular at https://invest.greencoffeecompany.com/. Timelines are subject to change. Listing on the NASDAQ is contingent upon necessary approvals, and reserving a ticker symbol does not guarantee a company's public listing.

Compensation disclosure. 24/7 Wall St., a brand of Flywheel Publishing, is paid $4.50 for each click on the promotional links in this article. This compensation is paid to us by Launch Potato LLC in connection with the Regulation A offering of Green Coffee Co Holdings, LLC. The per-click rate is fixed and is not subject to volume thresholds, conversion bonuses, or other adjustments. Our compensation does not depend on whether any reader invests, on the amount invested, or on whether the offering succeeds. Because compensation depends on click volume and the campaign has no fixed end date, the total amount we receive is not determinable in advance. Rate stated as of July 28, 2026.

24/7 Wall St. and its affiliates hold no securities in Green Coffee Co Holdings, LLC. We do not endorse this offering or any statement made in the offering materials, and nothing here is a recommendation to invest. This promotional content was supplied or approved by the issuer and was not produced by our editorial staff.

Green Coffee Co Holdings, LLC is conducting an offering under Regulation A of the Securities Act of 1933. Offers and sales may be made only by means of the qualified offering circular. Read it in full, including the risk factors, before investing: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001819425/000110465926080902/tm2614683d7_253g2.htm. All Green Coffee Co Holdings, LLC filings are available at https://www.sec.gov/edgar/browse/?CIK=1819425. Qualification of an offering statement by the SEC does not mean the SEC has approved the offering or passed on the merits or accuracy of the offering materials.

This is a speculative investment. The securities are illiquid, there is no public trading market for them, investors should be prepared to hold indefinitely, and investors should be prepared to lose the entire amount invested. Past performance does not predict future results. Forward-looking statements are estimates subject to substantial uncertainty.

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About the Author Lee Jackson →

Lee Jackson has covered Wall Street analysts' equity and debt research and equity strategy daily for 24/7 Wall St. since 2012. His broad and diverse career, which included a stint as the creative services director at the NBC affiliate in Austin, Texas, gives him unique insight into the financial industry and world.

Lee Jackson's journey in the financial industry spans over 30 years, with nearly two decades as an institutional equity salesperson at Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, and Morgan Stanley. His career was marked by his presence on the sell side during pivotal Wall Street events, from the dot.com rise and bubble to the Long Term Capital Management debacle, 9/11, and the Great Recession of 2008. This is a testament to his resilience and adaptability in the face of market volatility.

Lee Jackson’s practical financial industry experience, acquired from a career at some of the biggest banks and brokerage firms, is complemented by a lifetime of writing on various platforms. This unique combination allows him to shed light on the intricacies and workings of Wall Street in a way that only someone with deep insider experience and knowledge can. Moreover, his extensive network across Wall Street continues to provide direct access for him and 24/7 Wall St., a privilege few firms enjoy.

Since 2012, Jackson’s work for 24/7 Wall St. has been featured in Barron’s, Yahoo Finance, MarketWatch, Business Insider, TradingView, Real Money, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Benzinga, and other media outlets. He attended the prestigious Cranbrook Schools in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and has a degree in broadcasting from the Specs Howard School of Media Arts.