Two of these five dividend stocks just took a beating in October, and that selloff quietly pushed their yields to levels that make the safer-looking names on the list look stingy by comparison.
A big yield only matters if the business keeps growing. Management raised 2026 investment volume to $10.0B, renewed leases are coming in at 102.7% of prior rent, and a $6B hyperscale data center joint venture adds a new growth channel. The average analyst target is $66.39.
Risk: Tenants without investment-grade credit generate 65.7% of annualized base rent. Net debt to adjusted EBITDAre also rose to 5.4x from 5.2x in Q1, so the REIT is more exposed if interest rates stay high.
AbbVie: Dividend Growth Backed by Skyrizi and Rinvoq
AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) yields about 2.49% on a $6.92 forward dividend. That is the lowest yield on this list. AbbVie is here for dividend growth, and the record backs that up. To get the next $1.73 quarterly payment, you must own shares before the October 15, 2026 ex-dividend date.
Dividend safety: AbbVie has raised its dividend every year since its 2013 spin-off. The quarterly payment went from $0.40 in 2013 to $1.73 in 2026. Full-year adjusted EPS guidance is $13.87 to $14.07, so the forward dividend uses about 50% of the low end. Q2 adjusted EPS of $3.65 beat the $3.08 consensus. The CFO said the company remains committed to “achieving a net leverage ratio of two times within two to three years following the deal close.”
Bull case: Newer drugs are making up for Humira’s lost sales. Skyrizi grew 24.4% to $5.51B and Rinvoq grew 24.5% to $2.53B. Management now expects full-year revenue of about $67.6 billion. The stock trades at 16 times forward earnings and is up 24.57% year to date.
Risk: Humira sales dropped 35.9% to $756M, and Imbruvica fell 29.4%. The pending $10.9B immunology acquisition is expected to reduce earnings by $0.14 per share and will add more debt to a balance sheet that already shows negative book value.
Verizon: Ultra-High Yield After a Sharp Selloff
Verizon is an ultra-high-yield name at about 6.58%, based on a $2.83 forward dividend and a $43 share price. Part of that yield comes from a recent drop. The stock is down 13.59% over one month, and telecom stocks bounced only slightly on Monday after Friday’s plunge.
Dividend safety: Free cash flow covers the dividend easily. Q2 free cash flow rose 27.1% to $6.43B, and the adjusted EBITDA margin expanded to 40.1% from 37.1%. The quarterly payment went up from $0.69 to $0.7075 in 2026. Verizon’s dividend history shows continuous quarterly payments since 1999, rising from $0.385 per quarter at the start. After the Frontier deal, net unsecured debt rose to 2.5x adjusted EBITDA.
Bull case: The core business is improving. Verizon added 184K postpaid phone subscribers, compared with a loss of 9K a year earlier. Churn (the share of customers leaving) improved to 0.92%, and fiber connections rose 43.3% to 10.9M. Management raised adjusted EPS guidance to $4.99 to $5.04. At 9 times forward earnings, the stock trades well below the average analyst target of $51.24.
Risk: Competition is the main threat. Fixed wireless net adds fell 30.6% and GAAP net income dropped 22.9%. Higher debt after Frontier also leaves less room for mistakes if a price war breaks out.
Chevron: Record Production and Hess Cash Cover the Payout
Chevron (NYSE:CVX) yields about 3.28%, based on a $1.78 quarterly dividend and a $217.18 share price. The yield is lower than it was because the stock has risen 46.46% year to date.
Dividend safety: Q2 adjusted free cash flow was $15.4 billion. The quarterly dividend costs about $3.49B, so cash flow covered it several times over. Chevron paid down more than $8 billion of debt in the quarter. Net debt to EBITDA is 0.94x and interest coverage is 13.7x. The quarterly dividend has gone up every year from 2017 through 2026, from $1.08 to $1.78. The CEO said the Hess assets generate free cash flow “roughly double the incremental dividends.”
Bull case: Chevron hit a record 2,077 MBOED of U.S. upstream production. It reached $3 billion in structural cost cuts six months ahead of schedule. It also signed a 20-year take-or-pay power contract for 2.67 gigawatts to supply an AI data center, which brings in cash that does not depend on oil prices. Management’s 2030 targets assume “flat commodity prices that are lower than today.”
Risk: High oil prices lifted Q2 results. Brent averaged $104 in the quarter versus $68 a year earlier. If oil falls back, the cash buffer over the dividend will contract.
Altria: A Raised Payout Facing Shrinking Cigarette Volumes
Altria (NYSE:MO) is ultra-high-yield at about 6.24%, based on its $4.44 annualized dividend and a $71.16 share price. In August, the board raised the quarterly payment 4.7% to $1.11, which the company called “the 61st dividend increase in the past 57 years.”
Dividend safety: Adjusted EPS guidance is $5.61 to $5.72, so the dividend uses about 79% of the low end. That is a high payout ratio, but Altria has run at that level for years. Management is aiming mid-single digits dividend per share growth annually through 2028. Altria returned nearly $3.9B to shareholders in the first half of 2026. Shareholders’ equity is negative at -$2.6B, mainly because of years of buybacks.
Bull case: Pricing power keeps cigarette profits strong even as volumes fall. on! PLUS is now in 120,000 stores. At 12 times forward earnings, the stock has a modest valuation. The stock is up 29.4% year to date.
Risk: Domestic cigarette volumes fell 5%, Marlboro’s retail share slid to 39.5%, and on! lost 4.2 pts of nicotine pouch share. The stock also trades above the average analyst target of $70.
One Roster, Five
Realty Income and Verizon have fallen in price while their cash flow keeps growing. Chevron brings the strongest balance sheet on the list, and AbbVie brings a dividend-growth record dating back to its spin-off. Altria rounds it out with an ultra-high yield and a long history of increases. Each payout is supported by cash generation, and the next round of quarterly results will show whether that coverage holds.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
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.
