7 High-Yield Dividend Stocks for December 2025

Monthly dividend stocks are companies that pay dividends to shareholder monthly, instead of the far-more-typical quarterly or -- albeit rarely -- once or twice per year. This can be particularly useful for people who are using those dividends as income to pay living expenses.

With monthly dividend payments in mind, here's a closer look at the top monthly high-yield dividend stocks for 2025. The combination makes these stocks great for earning passive income.

When it comes to monthly dividend stocks, Realty Income (O +0.12%) is the clear leader. It bills itself as The Monthly Dividend Company, having paid 665 consecutive monthly dividends as of November 2025. Since its 1994 initial public offering (IPO), Realty Income has increased its dividend 132 times while raising the payout at a 4.2% compound annual rate, giving this REIT (real estate investment trust) more than 30 years of dividend increases.

Realty Income has lots of room to grow despite most of its tenants being relatively slower-growth businesses. The company estimates the global market opportunity for the single-tenant net lease real estate it targets to be $13.9 trillion. That's a big opportunity to continue consolidating its tenants' properties under its ownership, growing the payout, and generally rewarding patient investors monthly, year in and year out.

2. EPR Properties

EPR Properties (EPR -0.89%) is a REIT that specializes in owning experiential real estate such as movie theaters, eat-and-play venues, casinos, ski resorts, gaming facilities, themed lodging, amusement and water parks, fitness centers, and more. It secures these properties by signing triple net leases with the venue operators, meaning the tenants bear the responsibility for building insurance, maintenance, and real estate taxes.

After a brutal period during the COVID-19 pandemic, EPR is back to growth as consumers have returned to in-person experiences in droves. EPR works with some of the largest and most popular operators in each of these segments, which combined make up $100 billion in market opportunity. Even its movie theater business, which still hasn't -- and may never -- fully recover to pre-pandemic levels, has stabilized.

EPR owns 3% of all North American theaters, but those locations generate 8% of the box office. Despite that relative strength, EPR is reducing its exposure to this segment, divesting theaters as it prioritizes markets where there is growth.

As a result, EPR has returned to increasing its dividend. After cutting it by a third during the pandemic, it has since raised the payout three times, and it's up 18% since 2022.

3. Agree Realty

Agree Realty (ADC -0.66%) is another net-lease REIT, but it owns free-standing retail properties. It focuses on owning properties leased to essential retailers, such as grocery stores, home improvement stores, dollar stores, and drug stores, which are less susceptible to disruption from e-commerce or a recession. This strategy enables Agree Realty to generate steady rental income to support its dividend.

A quick look at its dividend history can be misleading -- the shift from a quarterly to a monthly dividend in 2021 can make it look like it cut its payout that year. But on an annualized basis, it has raised its payout every year since coming through the 2008-09 financial crisis. This REIT has increased its dividend at a 5.6% compound annual rate over the past decade, and two increases in 2025 have bumped the payout 3.6% higher.

That upward trend should continue as the company keeps expanding its portfolio. The retail REIT expects to invest around $1.5 billion in real estate in 2025. Between that steady portfolio growth and strong tenant relationships (it has more than eight years in average lease terms under contract), Agree Realty should remain a modest, reliable monthly dividend grower for years to come.

4. LTC Properties

LTC Properties (LTC -0.42%) is a healthcare REIT. It primarily invests in senior housing and skilled nursing properties secured by triple net leases, mortgage loans, and other cash-generating investment structures. This strategy gives the REIT a relatively steady income to support its monthly dividend.

The COVID-19 pandemic hit the senior housing sector hard, affecting LTC Properties' tenants. Several struggled to pay rent, leading some to file for bankruptcy. However, this REIT's financial strength helped it weather the storm and offset some of the lost income with new investments, allowing it to maintain its monthly dividend.

Still, LTC has been unable to increase its payout since 2016. It's notable, though, that many of its peers have had to cut their dividends in recent years.

LTC faces some good long-term trends but operates in a tough industry. In 2030, the number of Americans 65 and older will be double the 65-and-over population of 2010, a positive tailwind for the company. However, it must continue to stabilize its tenants and align itself with the best operators for the big-picture tailwind to reward patient shareholders. Meanwhile, investors can earn more than 6% in yield by being patient.

Gladstone Commercial (GOOD -1.92%) is a diversified REIT that owns net-leased office and industrial properties in the U.S., focusing on secondary markets because they offer higher investment yields. This strategy enabled Gladstone to generate a very stable income for years, but its streak of more than 200 consecutive monthly dividends, either at or above the prior month's level, came to an end in 2023.

The culprit -- poorly performing office properties -- led to a 20% dividend cut as the company worked through its portfolio to offload unprofitable properties. While we can't count out another dividend cut, management seems to have stabilized the business and is back on the offensive.

The company has shifted to high-demand industrial properties, retaining office properties that are well tenanted for the long term and offloading the ones it doesn't expect to perform to its expectations. As a result, industrial properties now generate 69% of base rents, while it continues to reduce office space in the mix.

It's still unclear when the dividend will start growing again. With a yield nearing 11% at recent prices, the market seems to be fearing another payout cut on the horizon.

That makes it a risky investment for income-seekers. But if management can keep up the momentum and make this industrial pivot a success, the risk-reward profile makes Gladstone an interesting monthly dividend stock to consider.

6. SL Green

SL Green (SLG +0.36%), another REIT, is the largest office landlord in New York City. For years, owning Manhattan office buildings -- some of the most highly demanded, irreplaceable real estate assets on Earth -- was a huge strength.

But the COVID-19 pandemic and the acceleration in changes to how and where people work have weighed on the office REIT. SL Green's management adapted to the new reality by selling its least desirable and noncore assets and focusing on tenanting its vacant properties at competitive, profitable rates.

This includes a number of transactions in 2025 that enhance the cash flows and debt profile of its retail real estate in the heart of Times Square. While office and some physical retail continue to feel pressure, destination properties like those in Times Square are irreplaceable and should remain valuable for decades to come.

The bad news on the dividend also turned positive over the past year, with the company shifting from having to cut the dividend to raising it by 3% in December 2024. That's a modest increase, but a step in the right direction, considering the dividend is still 73% below pre-pandemic levels. While the office environment remains a bit fluid, the worst is likely over for SL Green.

7. Stag Industrial

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