The healthcare sector has long been a favorite for income investors -- and for good reason. Many healthcare stocks offer attractive dividend yields.
Some stocks stand out more than others, though. Here are the three healthcare stocks paying the highest dividends in 2025.
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1. SIGA Technologies
SIGA Technologies (SIGA -4.16%) focuses primarily on developing drugs for treating orthopoxviruses. Its flagship product is TPOXX, an antiviral medication that's approved in the U.S. and Canada for treating smallpox and in Europe, Japan, and the U.K. for treating smallpox, mpox, cowpox, and vaccinia complications.
The company's dividend yield is a lofty 9.29%. However, there's something investors should know about SIGA's dividend. The drugmaker doesn't pay a regular dividend but, instead, has declared special cash dividends for four consecutive years.
Special cash dividends usually aren't viewed as favorably by income investors as established programs that pay dividends on a monthly or quarterly basis. The risk that a company will decide against paying a special cash dividend in the future is probably higher than the risk that a company will suspend a regular dividend.
SIGA's ability to pay dividends in the future depends largely on how seriously governments perceive the threat posed by smallpox, mpox, and other orthopoxviruses. For now, the threat level is high. That probably bodes well for the company declaring a special cash dividend in 2026, but it's difficult to predict what will happen with SIGA's dividend beyond then.
2. Pfizer
Pfizer (PFE -2.53%) is the most well-known of the high-paying healthcare dividend stocks on this list. The company was founded in 1849. Today, it's one of the biggest drugmakers on the planet, with a market cap of over $130 billion and a lineup that includes multiple blockbuster drugs.
Income investors have a lot to like about Pfizer. Its forward dividend yield stands at 7.32%. The company has paid a dividend for 346 consecutive quarters and has increased its dividend for 16 consecutive years. Its management team remains committed to sustaining and growing the dividend.
Pfizer faces some challenges that could limit how much it's able to increase the dividend over the next few years, though. By the end of 2028, the company will lose patent protection for kidney cancer drug Inlyta, autoimmune disease drug Xeljanz, blood thinner Eliquis, breast cancer drug Ibrance, prostate cancer drug Xtandi, rare-disease franchise Vyndaqel/Vyndamx, and Mektovi, which treats melanoma and non-small cell lung cancer.
While this patent cliff admittedly looks daunting, Pfizer's dividend shouldn't be in danger. The drugmaker has several rising stars, including migraine therapy Nurtec ODT and cancer drugs Padcev, Lorbrena, and Elrexfio. Pfizer's pipeline is also loaded with promising candidates, including 30 late-stage programs.
3. Spok Holdings
Spok Holdings (SPOK -0.17%) specializes in healthcare communication and collaboration solutions. The company's flagship product, Spok Care Connect, is a unified communication platform that provides closed-loop communication, secure messaging, and collaboration capabilities to clinical teams. While Spok mainly focuses on hospitals, it also sells products to large government agencies, public-safety institutions, academic institutions, and other commercial customers.
There's good news and bad news with Spok's dividend. First, the bad news: Don't expect dividend increases. Spok hasn't increased its dividend since 2022. The good news, though, is that the dividend is attractive, with a forward yield of 6.75%.
Want more good news? Spok's business is booming.
The company's earnings jumped 33% year over year in the second quarter of 2025. Its software operations bookings were 34% higher than the prior-year period. Unsurprisingly, Spok's stock has also performed well and is handily beating the market so far this year.
