What would make income investors enjoy a happy new year? My guess is they'd be pretty pleased if they received consistently high dividends every quarter.
I'm not really an income investor at this stage in my life. However, enjoying consistently juicy dividends throughout next year would make me smile. The great news is that several stocks appear to be well-positioned to meet that objective. Here are my five favorite ultra-high-yield dividend stocks to buy for 2026.
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1. Ares Capital
Ares Capital (ARCC 2.27%) is the largest publicly traded business development company (BDC). Its $28.7 billion portfolio is highly diversified, with over 15 industries represented and no individual investment outside of its subsidiary, Ivory Hill Asset Management, making up more than 2% of the total.
This BDC pays a lofty forward dividend yield of 9.6%. Ares Capital has either maintained or grown its dividend for 16 consecutive years and counting. It has also delivered significantly higher total returns than its rival BDCs, as well as the S&P 500 (^GSPC 1.52%), since its inception in 2004.
NASDAQ: ARCC
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2. Enbridge
Enbridge (ENB 0.02%) is a leading midstream energy company, operating pipelines that transport 30% of the crude oil produced in North America and 20% of natural gas consumed in the U.S. It's also North America's largest natural gas utility based on volume, serving 7.1 million U.S. customers.
The company boasts an impressive dividend track record, with 30 consecutive years of dividend increases. Enbridge's forward dividend yield is roughly 5.9%. As icing on the cake, the energy leader has around $50 billion of growth opportunities identified through the end of this decade.
3. Energy Transfer
Energy Transfer (ET 1.01%) is another top midstream energy company. The limited partnership (LP) operates over 144,000 miles of pipeline throughout the U.S., as well as other assets, including terminals, storage facilities, and fractionators.
NYSE: ET
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This stock is an excellent choice for income investors, boasting a forward distribution yield of 8.1%. It also has solid growth prospects with the construction of new data centers powered by electricity generation facilities fueled by natural gas. Two recent examples of these opportunities include Energy Transfer's contracts with CloudBurst and Oracle (ORCL 2.43%) to provide natural gas for data centers.
4. Enterprise Products Partners
Enterprise Products Partners (EPD 1.64%) is like the same song but a different verse. Like Energy Transfer, it's a leader in the midstream energy industry and is organized as an LP. Enterprise Products Partners operates over 50,000 miles of pipelines, as well as liquids storage facilities, natural gas processing trains, fractionators, and deepwater docks.
This energy stock isn't too far behind Enbridge, with its 27 consecutive years of distribution increases. Enterprise Products Partners' distribution yield is an attractive 6.8%. I especially like that the LP has a long history of generating solid cash flow to fund its distribution. I also appreciate Enterprise's strong balance sheet, which has earned the LP the highest credit rating in the midstream energy industry.
5. Realty Income
Last, but not least, I'm a big fan of Realty Income (O +0.35%). This real estate investment trust (REIT) owns 15,542 commercial real estate properties in nine countries. Realty Income's tenant base features 1,647 clients representing 92 industries.
NYSE: O
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The REIT bills itself as the "real estate partner to the world's leading companies." That's no exaggeration. Realty Income's clients include well-known companies such as Dollar General (DG 6.61%), FedEx (FDX 2.38%), Home Depot (HD 2.75%), and Walmart (WMT +1.47%).
Like Enbridge, Realty Income has increased its dividend for 30 consecutive years. Even more impressively, though, the REIT has raised its dividend payout for 112 straight quarters. Its forward dividend yield is 5.7%. One more thing: Realty Income pays its dividend monthly rather than quarterly. I think this REIT is an ideal stock to make the new year a happy one for income investors.
