Verizon Used Just 49% of Its Free Cash Flow for Dividends. Here Are 4 Other High-Yield Stocks

A big yield only matters if the business can keep paying it. These five income names all cover their payout with real cash: free cash flow at a telecom, AFFO at a REIT, distributable cash flow at a pipeline partnership, distributable investment income at a BDC, and earnings at a tobacco company. The clearest example is Verizon (NYSE:VZ | VZ Price Prediction). In the first nine months of 2026, it paid $8.8 billion in dividends against $18 billion of free cash flow, which means the dividend used about 49% of the cash the business generated. Here is the coverage, the yield, and the payment history for each pick heading into November.

Verizon: Strongest Cash Flow Since 2020 Behind a 6.4% Yield

Dividend safety: Verizon’s third-quarter free cash flow came in at $7.801 billion, up 13.88% year over year. Management called it the company’s best quarterly free cash flow since 2020. The company also raised its full-year free cash flow growth outlook to approach 12%, up from 9% to 10%. Net unsecured leverage against adjusted EBITDA improved to 2.3 times. Chief Financial Officer Tony Skiadas said on the call: “We remain committed to growing the dividend and delivering enhanced returns to our shareholders through share repurchases.”

Yield and track record: The quarterly dividend is $0.7075, which annualizes to $2.83. With the stock at $44.09, that works out to a forward yield of about 6.4%, which makes Verizon the only ultra-high-yield name on this list based on its regular dividend alone. The company’s dividend record shows the quarterly payout rising each year, from $0.475 in 2010 to today’s level. The upcoming payment is scheduled for November 2.

Bull case: Verizon is now winning customers without giving away phones. It added 406,000 postpaid phone subscribers in the quarter, compared with 44,000 a year earlier. Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded to 40.2% from 37.8%, and full-year adjusted EPS guidance rose for the third straight quarter to $5.04-$5.06. On top of that, roughly $4 billion of AI Connect contracts, including an AWS dark fiber deal worth over $2 billion, should start adding to results in 2027. The stock is up 15.63% year-to-date.

Risk: Debt. Verizon has $166.2 billion in outstanding debt, and interest expense rose 17.2% year over year. Wireless retail postpaid ARPA (average revenue per account) also slipped 1.9%, so the subscriber gains still have to translate into higher revenue per customer.

Realty Income: AFFO Pays the Monthly Check With Room to Spare

Dividend safety: For REITs, the right coverage measure is adjusted funds from operations (AFFO), meaning cash earnings after recurring property costs. Realty Income (NYSE:O) earned $1.09 of AFFO per share in the second quarter, up 3.8%, and paid out $0.8115 in dividends over the same period. The payout ratio is about 74% of AFFO. Management raised full-year AFFO guidance to $4.44 to $4.45. Current occupancy is 98.8%, and Fitch rates the company A. Management’s credit loss assumption of 40 basis points of rental revenue is roughly double the company’s historical run rate, providing a buffer.

Yield and track record: The monthly dividend is $0.2715, or $3.258 a year. At $56.92, the forward yield is about 5.7%. In October, the company declared its 676th consecutive monthly dividend (if a check every 30 days is the appeal, we rounded up seven of our favorite monthly payers in a free report). Over the past year, the monthly payout rose from $0.2695 to its current level. The ex-dividend date is October 30, and payment follows on November 13.

Bull case: The REIT keeps finding places to put money to work at attractive returns. It raised its 2026 investment guidance to $10 billion, and second-quarter deals have an initial cash yield of 7.3%. The company is also building a private capital arm, including a $6B hyperscale data center JV, that brings in fee income without leaning on new public stock issuance.

Risk: Tenant credit quality. 65.7% of annualized base rent comes from tenants without investment-grade ratings, and leverage edged up to 5.4x from 5.2x. The upcoming third-quarter report will show whether occupancy and rent recapture are holding up.

Enterprise Products Partners: 1.9x Distribution Coverage and $6.3 Billion of Growth Projects

Dividend safety: Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD) generated about $2.3B of operating distributable cash flow in the third quarter, up 27% year over year. That covered the distribution 1.9x and left $1.1B in cash for growth projects, unit buybacks, and paying down debt. Over the 12 months through June, distributions plus buybacks used 56% of adjusted cash flow from operations. About 97% of the partnership’s debt is fixed-rate, with leverage at the 3.0 target.

Yield and track record: The quarterly distribution of $0.56 annualizes to $2.24, up 2.8% from a year ago. At $38.80, that is a yield of about 5.8%. Distribution records go back to 1999, with a payment every quarter, and the payout has increased every year from 2022 through 2026. Units bought by October 30 qualify for the November 13 payment.

Bull case: Record volumes are flowing through the system, including 4.6 Bcf/d of Permian processing inlet volumes. Management says “Enterprise currently has $6.3 billion of growth capital projects under construction,” and two of them, the Houston Ship Channel LPG terminal expansion and the Athena processing plant, are due in Q4 2026. LPG export capacity is about 90% contracted, which keeps price swings in check. The units are up 26.61% year to date.

Risk: Part of this year’s strength came from a demand spike. Management said strong cash price spreads in April and May added around $200 million in the second quarter and have since “largely normalized.” Investors should also know that the partnership issues a K-1 tax form, which adds paperwork at tax time.

Main Street Capital: Monthly Income Plus Supplemental Payouts Pushing the Yield Near 7.8%

Dividend safety: For a business development company (BDC), the key coverage figure is distributable net investment income (DNII). Main Street Capital (NYSE:MAIN) earned $1.08 per share of DNII before taxes in the second quarter. That covers a quarter’s worth of $0.265 regular monthly dividends, about 1.36x. Management expects third-quarter DNII of at least $0.97 per share. Only 1.1% of the portfolio is on non-accrual at fair value, and net asset value reached a record $33.92 per share. Regulatory leverage of 0.69x is below the company’s long-term target range.

Yield and track record: Counting only the regular monthly dividend, the forward rate of $3.18 yields about 5.7% at $55.38. Including supplemental dividends, the trailing 12-month total of $4.33 works out to about 7.8%, which places the all-in payout in ultra-high-yield territory. The $0.30 supplemental paid in September was the company’s 20th consecutive quarterly supplemental dividend, and the regular monthly payout has stepped up each year, from $0.24 in early 2024 to its current level. The next regular payment comes on November 13.

Bull case: Main Street makes money two ways: interest on its loans and gains when its equity stakes in small private companies are sold. The exit from Center Technologies produced a $46.4M realized gain. Management said it expected to propose an additional significant supplemental dividend payable in December 2026. Annualized return on equity was 18.9%.

Risk: Lower interest rates reduce what Main Street earns on its floating-rate loans, and dividend income from its lower middle market companies fell $10.4 million year over year. Funding costs are also going up: the company just priced $500 million of 6.55% Notes due 2030. Supplemental dividends change from quarter to quarter and are not guaranteed.

Altria: A Raised Dividend Backed by Raised Earnings Guidance

Dividend safety: Altria (NYSE:MO) raised its 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $5.66 to $5.74. Against the $4.44 annual dividend, that is a payout of about 78% at the middle, in line with management’s mid-single-digit dividend growth target. Third-quarter net income was $2.518B, compared with $1.7B paid out in dividends. Debt-to-EBITDA was 1.9x at midyear. Altria’s balance sheet shows negative shareholders’ equity of -$2.225B, driven by years of share buybacks.

Yield and track record: In August, the quarterly dividend went up to $1.11 from $1.06. At $75.52, the annualized rate yields about 5.9%. Altria’s dividend record shows the quarterly payout rising every year since 2008, from $0.29 to today’s level.

Bull case: Altria can still raise cigarette prices even as volumes shrink. Smokeable adjusted OCI (operating companies income) rose 3.9% with a margin of 64.5%. Equity income from its ABI stake rose to $228M from $123M. The board also added $1B to the buyback program. The stock is up 37.33% year to date, showing investors have caught on.

Risk: The core business is shrinking. Adjusted domestic cigarette shipments fell about 4%, Marlboro’s retail share slipped to 39.5%, and on! lost share in nicotine pouches, falling to 13.5%. Its NJOY ACE vape is still off the market. Price increases can offset lost volume for a while, but Altria needs its smoke-free products to start growing.

Five Payouts Backed by Cash Flow

Every name here pays out less than it brings in: Verizon used about half its free cash flow on dividends, Enterprise covers its distribution 1.9x, Main Street’s DNII runs well ahead of its regular dividend, and Realty Income and Altria keep payouts below AFFO and earnings. Yields range from about 5.7% to 6.4% on regular payouts and reach roughly 7.8% for Main Street once supplementals are counted. Upcoming milestones include Verizon’s 2027 outlook, Realty Income’s third-quarter AFFO, the in-service dates for Enterprise’s projects, and Main Street’s December supplemental.

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