When the stock market begins to rumble, investors can take comfort in high-quality dividend stocks. Capital gains can come and go as stocks fluctuate, but dividends are yours once paid out.
The trick, especially when looking at dividend stocks with abnormally high yields, is to find the ones you can depend on. That’s not always easy to do. High dividend yields often result from the market sniffing out business or financial risk in the company, which can ultimately lead to poor returns or dividend cuts.
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These two companies have dominant, entrenched businesses that enable them to pay generous, reliable dividends to shareholders. Here is an introduction to each, and why investors can count on their ultra-high dividend yields for 2026 and beyond.
Altria Group (NYSE: MO) is the leading tobacco company in the United States. Most famous for selling Marlboro cigarettes, Altria also owns leading brands of oral tobacco and cigars, as well as a stake in global beer giant Anheuser-Busch InBev. Altria continuously raises cigarette prices to offset declining volumes. It’s worked so well that the company is a Dividend King, a label earned with 56 consecutive annual dividend increases.
Marlboro still accounts for the vast majority of Altria’s profits, so there could be trouble down the road if the company doesn’t make more headway with next-generation smoke-free products. But for now, the dividend is just 75% of earnings, with low-single-digit earnings growth expected over the next three to five years. Investors can continue to cash those dividend checks in confidence.
Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) is one of the big three wireless carriers in the United States. While competition is fierce among them, Verizon faces little threat from new entrants due to the immense capital required to build out a network. Most Americans depend on their cellphones in their daily lives, so Verizon’s business has proven very reliable, almost like a utility. As a result, it has become a very strong dividend stock.
The company has increased the dividend for 22 consecutive years and counting, and the payout is only 56% of this year’s earnings estimates. The U.S. market is quite saturated, so don’t expect explosive growth. Analysts expect Verizon’s earnings to grow by just 4% to 5% annually over the next several years. That said, it’s an ideal stock for income-focused investors, and its low beta suggests that it’s likely to hold up well if broader market volatility continues.
