5 High-Yield Dividend Stocks That Raised Their Payouts in 2026
Five income stocks cleared a rare filter this year: every single one raised its dividend payout, even as interest rates punished yield hunters. Find out which names backed those raises with data-center contracts, smoke-free cash flow, and free cash flow…
Every stock on this list raised its dividend in 2026. That is the filter for this month’s retiree income list: five NYSE-listed income names where cash generation comes first and yield second. Three regulated utilities are signing contracts with data centers, a tobacco company has become a smoke-free cash machine, and a telecom company has double-digit free cash flow growth. The biggest raise came from Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM | PM Price Prediction), which lifted its quarterly payout from $1.47 to $1.60. The other four also increased their quarterly checks this year, and their ex-dividend dates fall in November or have just passed.
Duke Energy: 20-Plus Years of Raises Backed by Data-Center Contracts
Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) yields about 3.40% based on its $4.34 annualized forward dividend and a share price of $127.46. The next quarterly payment of $1.085 goes ex-dividend on November 13.
Dividend safety: Trailing dividends of $4.28 use roughly 65% of trailing EPS of $6.57. The forward dividend comes to about 66% of the low end of 2026 adjusted EPS guidance, which management reaffirmed at $6.55 to $6.80. That is a comfortable payout for a regulated utility. Duke also closed $5.3B of strategic transactions to shore up its balance sheet and is aiming for 14.5% FFO to debt this year. On the second-quarter call, the CFO said: “In July, we increased our quarterly dividend payment, marking over 20 years of consecutive annual dividend increases.”
Bull case: Duke has signed 7.8 gigawatts of electric service agreements with data-center customers. Another 15.4 gigawatts in its late-stage pipeline is expected to convert by the first half of 2027. Those contracts include minimum-take provisions, so the revenue growth rests on signed commitments. Second-quarter adjusted EPS came in at $1.43 versus a $1.31 consensus, Duke’s fifth straight beat.
Risk: The building program costs a lot. Management describes it as spending “more than $1 billion per month,” which brings higher interest expense and depreciation. Coal-ash cleanup costs and the chance that data-center demand grows more slowly than expected remain open questions.
Southern Company: Contracted Megaloads and Frozen Rates Protect the Payout
Southern Company (NYSE:SO) yields about 3.23% on a $3.04 forward dividend at $94.17. The next $0.76 quarterly payment goes ex-dividend on November 16.
Dividend safety: The forward dividend matches about 68% of the low end of 2026 adjusted EPS guidance of $4.50 to $4.60, and management expects to finish “near or at the top” of that range. Southern has raised its quarterly dividend every year since at least 2013, from $0.5075 to today’s $0.76. Its dividend record shows no dividend cuts from 2001 onward. Management has also cut its expected equity needs through 2030 to $1.1 billion and is working toward about 17% FFO to debt by 2029.
Bull case: Southern’s large-load contracts total more than 17 GW by the mid-2030s, including a 3.2 GW, 25-year agreement with OpenAI near Savannah. Minimum bills cover 100% of the incremental cost to serve those customers, and the full portfolio is backed by about $20.8 billion in collateral. Commercial kWh sales rose 7.3% in the second quarter, and retail base rates in Georgia and Alabama are held stable until 2029. That makes rate shock for customers less likely.
Risk: The stock already trades close to the average analyst target of $95.90, and 14 of the covering analysts rate it a hold. Residential kWh sales fell 1.5% in the second quarter. Accelerated depreciation on Southern Power’s wind repowering will also weigh on results into 2027.
WEC Energy Group: Fastest Dividend Grower of the Utility Trio
WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) yields about 3.27% on a $3.81 forward dividend at $116.42. This year’s quarterly rate of $0.9525 is up from $0.8925 in 2025, and the stock goes ex-dividend on November 13.
Dividend safety: The forward dividend is about 68% of the low end of WEC’s newly raised 2026 guidance of $5.60 to $5.64. Management is aiming for a 60% to 70% payout ratio. WEC has raised its quarterly dividend every year since at least 2016, and the CEO repeated the plan on the October call: “We remain committed to 6.5% to 7% dividend growth.” Over the next five years, WEC expects $26 to $27 billion in operating cash flow, enough to fund more than half of its cash needs.
Bull case: Third-quarter EPS came in at $1.18 versus a $0.98 consensus. WEC’s 2027 to 2031 capital plan grew to $47.5 billion, supporting a long-term EPS growth target of 7 to 9%+. Microsoft and Oracle have committed to paying their full share of the energy costs tied to their data centers. Investors get the 2027 dividend plan in December.
Risk: By 2031, assets dedicated to very large customers are expected to reach almost 30% of total assets, and the plan relies on $19 billion of new debt. If a hyperscaler pulls back, that concentration matters.
Philip Morris International: An 8.8% Raise Funded by Smoke-Free Cash
Philip Morris International yields about 3.02% on its $6.40 annualized dividend at $212.14. The yield is lower than it was a year ago because the shares have risen 35.69% year to date.
Dividend safety: In September, PMI raised the quarterly dividend 8.8% to $1.60. Management called it the company’s “19th consecutive year” of increases, and the dividend record shows annual raises dating back to 2008. The new rate matches about 77% of the low end of 2026 adjusted EPS guidance of $8.29 to $8.44. Cash flow gives more buffer than that ratio suggests. PMI expects operating cash flow of about $13.5B against capex of just $1.4 to $1.6B. Net debt to adjusted EBITDA has fallen to 2.17x from 2.53x at year-end 2025.
Bull case: Smoke-free products now make up more than 40% of net revenue. The adjusted operating margin expanded to 44.7%, and U.S. segment revenue grew 22.7% thanks to ZYN. PMI has no buybacks planned, so free cash goes to the dividend and debt repayment.
Risk: At a trailing P/E of about 30, the stock leaves little room for disappointment. Management expects fourth-quarter U.S. operating income of “around zero or slightly negative” as it invests heavily behind ZYN. PMI also has a stockholders’ deficit of -$5.9B.
Verizon Communications: Ultra-High Yield With Free Cash Flow to Back It
Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) is the only ultra-high-yield name on this list, yielding about 6.31% on a $2.83 forward dividend at $44.86.
Dividend safety: Verizon paid $8.8 billion in dividends in the first nine months of the year, roughly 49% of the $18 billion in free cash flow it generated over the same period. The forward dividend is about 56% of the low end of adjusted EPS guidance, which Verizon has raised to $5.04 to $5.06. The quarterly payout has gone up every year since at least 2015, from $0.55 to $0.7075. Net unsecured debt to adjusted EBITDA improved to 2.3 times.
Bull case: Third-quarter free cash flow reached $7.801B, up 13.88%. Verizon added 406,000 postpaid phone customers, and its adjusted EBITDA margin hit 40.2%. The stock trades at about 8 times forward earnings, the cheapest valuation in this group. Contracts tied to AI Connect, worth roughly $4 billion, should start showing up in results in 2027.
Risk: Verizon has $166.2B of debt, interest expense rose 17.2% year over year, and wireless retail postpaid ARPA (average revenue per account) slipped 1.9%. Competition in wireless can quickly eat into those margins.
Five Raises, One Common Thread
All five companies raised their dividends this year and pay out a manageable share of their earnings or free cash flow. Duke, Southern and WEC have data-center contracts with minimum bills behind their growth plans, which supports regular annual raises. Philip Morris adds a faster-growing payout funded by about $13.5 billion in expected operating cash flow, and Verizon offers the highest starting yield with free cash flow covering its dividend about twice over. Watch WEC’s December dividend plan and Verizon’s progress on its leverage target for the next signs of where these payouts are headed.
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Chris Lange is a financial and geopolitical writer with more than a decade of experience covering a myriad of topics. He has published thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St., with past coverage focused heavily on stocks, IPOs, healthcare, defense, global affairs, and technology.
His work has been quoted, or referenced by a number of outlets including Business Insider, USA Today, Yahoo Finance, MSN, The Motley Fool, and many other publications. A graduate of Southwestern University, he studied business with a focus on investments and has previous experience in banking and startups.
When not reading or writing the news, he is following his passion for Lacrosse, playing chess, or building solar projects with his dad.
