The S&P 500 index (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) has a miserly yield of roughly 1%. That fact highlights just how difficult it is to find attractive dividend stocks in 2026. But if you are an income investor, you can still find yield; you just have to do a little digging. However, don’t just examine dividend yield. Pay close attention to the sustainability of the dividend, too.
Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE: EPD), for example, has a lofty 5.6% yield and a distribution growth streak of 27 years. Realty Income‘s (NYSE: O) yield is 4.9%, and its dividend has increased for 31 years. Here’s a look at each of these attractive passive income stocks.
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Enterprise sidesteps commodity risk
Enterprise’s lofty distribution yield is notable given that it operates in the energy sector, an industry known for volatility. But it operates in the midstream segment, which is actually very stable. Essentially, Enterprise owns energy infrastructure assets that transport oil and natural gas worldwide. It charges fees for the use of its assets, so commodity prices aren’t that impactful on its cash flows. That is how it has managed to achieve such an impressive streak of distribution growth.
The downside is that the lofty 5.6% yield will likely account for the lion’s share of an investor’s return over time. The pipelines and storage assets that Enterprise owns are large, time-consuming, and expensive to build. Slow and steady growth is the norm. That said, this particular midstream business also emphasizes fiscal conservatism. It has an investment-grade-rated balance sheet, and its distributable cash flow covers the distribution by a very solid 1.7x.
Most investors should have some exposure to the energy sector, given its importance in the global economy. Enterprise is a great way to do it in 2026, a year marked by energy sector volatility.
Realty Income is built to be boring
Realty Income is the largest net-lease real estate investment trust (REIT), with a portfolio of over 15,500 properties. It focuses on single-tenant retail properties, which make up roughly 80% of its portfolio. This is one of the most liquid areas of the institutional property market. And since the net lease structure requires tenants to pay for most property-level costs, Realty Income’s cost structure and risks tend to be lower than those of REITs that don’t use net leases. The rest of the portfolio is spread across industrial assets and more unique property types, such as casinos and data centers. The company also has notable geographic diversification, with around 20% of its rents coming from Europe.
