5 Dividend Stocks for Retirees Who Want More Than Just a Big Yield

When the 10-year Treasury yields 5.22%, a dividend stock has to offer more than a big number. These five names cover telecom, net-lease real estate, consumer staples, regulated utilities and pharma. Each one supports its payout with cash flow, a balance sheet that can carry it, and a dividend record that matches the actual payment history. Every section starts with safety, and yield comes second.

Verizon: Ultra-High Yield Backed by Rising Free Cash Flow

Verizon (NYSE:VZ | VZ Price Prediction) pays an annualized forward dividend of $2.83 per share. At $41.65, that works out to a forward yield of about 6.79%, so Verizon is the only true ultra-high-yield stock on this list.

Dividend safety: Free cash flow covers the dividend with room to spare. Second-quarter free cash flow came in at $6.43B, up 27.1%, and full-year guidance calls for $21.94B to $22.14B. At the forward rate, the dividend costs about $11.76B a year. The forward dividend equals roughly 56.7% of the low end of the raised adjusted EPS guidance of $4.99 to $5.04. Leverage is significant: total unsecured debt is $136.5B. Still, net unsecured debt stands at 2.5x adjusted EBITDA, and management is also targeting up to $4.5B in buybacks. The quarterly payout has gone from $0.6275 in 2021 to $0.7075, with an increase in every year of that period. The record also shows quarterly payments without a break since 1999.

Bull case: The business is improving. Service revenue grew 3.5% and adjusted EBITDA rose 7.2% to $13.72B. The EBITDA margin expanded to 40.1% from 37.1%. Verizon added 184,000 postpaid phone customers, and fiber broadband connections jumped 43.3% to 10.9M. Even so, the stock fell 8.75% in a single session when fears about Starlink competition hit wireless carriers. It now trades at about 9 times forward earnings and well below its 52-week high of $50.88. The average analyst target is $51.12.

Risk: Wireless equipment revenue fell nearly 20% and average revenue per account dropped 1.4%. If satellite competition starts to pressure pricing, the large debt load leaves less room for mistakes.

Realty Income: Monthly Payer Trading Near Its 52-Week Low

Realty Income (NYSE:O) pays monthly. The latest payment was $0.2715, and the annualized forward rate of $3.258 gives a forward yield of about 6.01% at $54.17. That puts this high-yield REIT right at the ultra-high-yield line.

Dividend safety: For a REIT, adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) is the number that matters. It is the cash earnings left after recurring property costs. The forward dividend uses about 73.4% of the low end of raised 2026 AFFO guidance of $4.44 to $4.45 per share. The free cash flow yield of 7.54% stands above the dividend yield. Fitch rates the company ‘A’ with a Stable Outlook. Realty Income has posted its 115th consecutive quarterly dividend increase and had declared 670 consecutive monthly dividends as of its Q1 2026 filing. The dividend record shows monthly payments going back to 1999.

Bull case: The portfolio is 98.8% occupied, and leases that came up for renewal were re-signed at 102.7% of prior rent. In the second quarter, Realty Income committed about $2.6B at a 7.3% initial cash yield and raised full-year investment guidance to $10.0B. It also announced a $6B hyperscale data center joint venture. Revenue grew 9.7% to $1.55B, and AFFO per share rose 3.8% to $1.09. The stock trades near its 52-week low of $53.15, while the average analyst target is $66.39.

Risk: Net debt rose to 5.4x pro forma adjusted EBITDAre from 5.2x. Non-investment-grade tenants account for 65.7% of base rent. With Treasuries above 5%, funding new deals costs more and the shares face pressure from interest rates.

PepsiCo: Dividend Growth Meets a U.S. Snack Slowdown

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) pays $1.48 per quarter, up from $1.4225 a year earlier. The forward rate of $5.92 yields about 4.70% at $125.97.

Dividend safety: The forward dividend takes about 74.5% of trailing EPS of $7.95. That is solid for a staples company, though not generous. PepsiCo plans to return $8.9B to shareholders in 2026, made up of $7.9B in dividends and $1.0B in buybacks. Interest coverage of 12.03 means debt service is not a concern. The record shows quarterly payouts rising from $0.13 in 1999 to $1.48, with no gaps in the quarterly entries.

Bull case: International growth is driving results. Third-quarter adjusted EPS of $2.34 beat the $2.30 estimate, the 4th straight beat. Revenue of $25.27B rose 5.6% and exceeded expectations. EMEA and Asia Pacific each grew 9%, and LatAm Foods grew 14%. The shares rallied even though the company cut its profit guidance, which suggests investors had already priced in a lot of bad news. At about 15 times forward earnings, the stock stands near its 52-week low of $123.47, far from its $166.41 high.

Risk: PepsiCo cut its 2026 core EPS growth outlook to 2.5% to 3.5% from 5% to 7%. Core operating profit in North American snacks fell 12%. The 4.47% free cash flow yield stands just below the forward dividend yield, so the dividend uses up almost all free cash flow. Future increases will depend on fixing the U.S. snack business.

Duke Energy: Regulated Payouts Fueled by Data Center Demand

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) raised its quarterly dividend to $1.085 from $1.065. The forward rate of $4.34 yields about 3.72% at $116.67.

Dividend safety: State regulators approve the rates Duke charges, which makes its earnings unusually predictable. The dividend uses about 66.3% of the low end of confirmed 2026 adjusted EPS guidance of $6.55 to $6.80. That fits within the normal payout range for a utility and leaves room for growth. Management is aiming long-term EPS growth of 5% to 7% through 2030. Duke has raised its quarterly dividend in each year from 2021 through 2026, and the record goes back to a $0.275 payment in 2001. Because utilities spend so heavily on new infrastructure, earnings growth and rate-base growth do more to cover the dividend than free cash flow does.

Bull case: Electricity demand is growing. Duke has secured 7.6 GW of economic development projects under signed service agreements, and its customer count grew 1.4% to about 8.73M. Second-quarter adjusted EPS of $1.43 beat the $1.31 estimate, the company’s 5th straight beat. The stock trades at about 16 times forward earnings with a beta of 0.345, and the average analyst target is $135.67.

Risk: A bigger asset base brings higher depreciation and interest costs. Coal ash cleanup and storm costs keep coming up; the company has run restoration work after Hurricane Isaias. If data center demand falls short, or customers push back on rising bills, the top half of that growth target could slip out of reach.

AbbVie: Lowest Yield, Strongest Coverage

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) pays $1.73 per quarter, up from $1.64 a year earlier. The forward rate of $6.92 yields about 2.50% at $276.45. That is the lowest yield on this list, and AbbVie earns its spot through dividend growth.

Dividend safety: AbbVie has the most coverage of the five. The forward dividend uses about 49.9% of the low end of 2026 adjusted EPS guidance of $13.87 to $14.07. The free cash flow yield of 3.65% is well above the dividend yield. Net debt stands at 2.26 times EBITDA, and management is committed to a net leverage ratio of two times within two to three years after its pending acquisition closes. The trailing GAAP P/E looks extreme, but that figure is distorted by accounting charges. On forward earnings, the multiple is about 16. The quarterly dividend has risen from $0.40 in the first 2013 records to $1.73, with an increase in every calendar year from 2014 through 2026.

Bull case: AbbVie has already replaced most of what it lost from Humira. Second-quarter revenue rose 10.2% to $16.99B. Skyrizi brought in $5.51B (up 24.4%), Rinvoq brought in $2.53B (up 24.5%), and neuroscience grew 20.3%. Management raised its full-year Skyrizi forecast to $21.7 billion. CFO Scott Reents told analysts the company has “substantial financial flexibility to pursue additional innovative business development.”

Risk: Humira sales fell 35.9% to $756M, and Imbruvica fell 29.4%. The pending $10.9B acquisition will dilute 2026 EPS by $0.14 and adds new debt. The stock also stands close to its 52-week high of $277.60, so the valuation leaves less margin for error than the other four names.

Durable Income Across Five Sectors

This group covers yields from about 2.50% to 6.79%, and every payout is supported by earnings, AFFO or free cash flow with more than enough room left over. Verizon and Realty Income bring the income, Duke Energy brings regulated stability, PepsiCo brings global staples scale, and AbbVie brings the fastest dividend growth. Selloffs in Verizon, Realty Income and PepsiCo have pushed their yields up while their dividends stayed intact. With Treasuries paying above 5%, the items to watch are satellite competition at Verizon, funding costs at Realty Income, the U.S. snack turnaround at PepsiCo, data center demand at Duke Energy and the pending acquisition at AbbVie.

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