1 Sleep-Well-at-Night Stock That Sends You a Check Every Month

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Nicknamed “The Monthly Dividend Company,” Realty Income isn’t your average real estate play. It’s one of the few publicly traded companies that sends a dividend check every single month, and it’s done so like clockwork for more over 600 consecutive months.

Its current forward yield sits at precisely 5.60%, a hefty figure in today’s environment. But this isn’t a yield play only. Since its IPO in 1994, Realty Income has raised its dividend over 130 times.

Even more impressive? It’s maintained 98%+ occupancy through economic booms, busts, and even the 2020-21 era, and now, the aftermath of a historic rate hike cycle.

Key Points

  • Realty Income yields 5.60%, pays monthly, and has raised its dividend by over 130 times in the past 3 decades.

  • It’s expanding into Europe, data centers, and experiential real estate while keeping occupancy above 98%.

  • With 5% annual AFFO growth, total returns could top 50% over five years.

How Realty Income Became a Dividend Machine

Behind the scenes, Realty Income’s model is incredibly disciplined. It operates as a triple-net lease REIT, which means its tenants, not Realty, are responsible for property taxes, maintenance, and insurance. That keeps Realty’s overhead low and its margins high.

But what truly sets it apart is diversification. As of mid-2025, Realty Income owns over 15,000 properties leased to more than 1,500 tenants spanning almost 90 industries.

You’ll find its tenants in the U.S., U.K., and across Europe. No single tenant contributes more than 3.4% of rental income, a fact most investors overlook. That’s powerful insulation against sector-specific shocks.

And these aren’t just any tenants. Realty’s top names include household staples like Walmart, Home Depot, and 7-Eleven. Even when brands like Walgreens or Dollar Tree struggled with store closures, stronger tenants more than offset the losses by expanding footprints.

Growing Through Mergers, Without Losing Focus

Through this rapid expansion, Realty Income never sacrificed quality. In fact, its adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) per share, a core REIT metric, has risen every year since 2020. It’s produced a compound annual growth rate of roughly 5%. And during this time, its occupancy never dropped below 98%.

What many investors don’t realize is that Realty Income’s strategy isn’t just about brick-and-mortar retail anymore. It’s planting flags in high-growth verticals like data centers and European CPI-linked leases.

In Europe, for instance, many of its leases are indexed to inflation, offering built-in rent escalators that keep up with rising prices.

Europe, Experiential, and AI?

Looking forward, Realty Income is aiming to be more than just a “retail REIT.” It’s exploring experiential real estate, think fitness chains, movie theaters, and even high-end restaurants. As e-commerce continues to pressure traditional retailers, these experience-based tenants offer foot traffic that online competitors can’t replicate.

Meanwhile, the company is targeting data centers, capitalizing on the explosive growth in AI and cloud computing.

Expect to see more sale-leaseback transactions as corporations offload owned properties to shore up balance sheets, offering Realty Income opportunities to buy high-quality assets at attractive yields.

And with interest rates likely to decline into 2026 and beyond, Realty’s growth engine may start humming louder. Why? Two reasons, cheaper capital makes it easier to acquire new properties and weaker competition from risk-free yields like T-bills and CDs makes its 5%-plus yield look very appealing again.

How High Could the Stock Go?

Realty Income trades at about 14x AFFO, roughly in line with its 10-year average. If AFFO is still growing at a 5% clip through 2030, a pace it’s held for the past half-decade,, the math points to a stock price around $77 by 2030, up 33% from current levels.

That estimate doesn’t even include dividends. Add in the monthly checks, and total returns could land north of 50% over five years. Not too shabby for a “boring” income stock.

A Portfolio Anchor in Uncertain Times

No, Realty Income probably won’t triple in the next five years. But it could be one of the few stocks that pays you not to worry.

It offers a rare combination: a high yield, monthly payouts, a fortress-like tenant base, and a growth runway that’s just beginning to expand internationally and into tech-driven assets.

Whether you’re nearing retirement or just want a rock-solid core holding that lets you sleep at night, Realty Income still lives up to its name.