Early Retirement Portfolio: 10 Stocks to Live Off Dividends

2. Realty Income Corporation (NYSE:O)

Dividend Yield as of January 6: 5.96%

Realty Income Corporation (NYSE:O) is an American real estate investment trust company that invests in single-tenant commercial properties in the country. The company operates a highly efficient and resilient business model, with tenants responsible for the majority of property expenses. Its extensive portfolio includes over 15,450 properties across all 50 US states and several European countries, leased to 1,552 tenants spanning 90 industries. This broad diversification, along with a focus on recession-resistant sectors such as grocery, pharmacy, and convenience retail, helps maintain a strong occupancy rate of 98.7%.

Realty Income Corporation (NYSE:O)’s forward-focused strategy strikes a balance between stability and innovation. Its expansion into Europe targets a vast $8.5 trillion net lease market, offering geographic diversification and new growth opportunities. The company’s investments in emerging sectors like digital infrastructure and gaming further strengthen its portfolio’s resilience and income potential. Recent acquisitions worth $740 million in Q3 2024, along with property sales totaling $249 million, demonstrate careful portfolio management, maintaining a balance between growth and stability.

Realty Income Corporation (NYSE:O) has implemented a proactive capital recycling strategy, selling properties that no longer align with its long-term goals and reinvesting in higher-yield opportunities to boost portfolio income. This strategy supports sustainable dividend growth, evidenced by 652 consecutive monthly dividends and over 30 years of annual increases. It currently offers a monthly dividend of $0.264 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.96%, as of January 6.

Of the 900 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey at the end of Q3 2024, 23 funds held stakes in Realty Income Corporation (NYSE:O), growing from 19 in the previous quarter. The total value of these stakes is more than $163.5 million. With over 1.7 million shares, AEW Capital Management owned the largest stake in the company.