Yield is often the most important feature investors look for in an excellent dividend stock. That makes a lot of sense, since the higher the yield, the more money you'll get for your dollar.
However, yield isn't the only feature in a great dividend stock, and sometimes a high yield can even be a red flag. Other features in a top dividend stock include dividend growth and stability over time. If you want to be able to rely on passive income forever, you want a dividend stock with a proven track record of paying and raising its dividend over a long period of time.
Procter & Gamble (PG 0.38%), Realty Income (O 0.13%), and Coca-Cola (KO 0.01%) are three great options. Let's look at each in turn.
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1. Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble makes many of the brands you know and love, such as Tide laundry detergent, Bounty paper towels, and Crest toothpaste. It has a brand portfolio of more than 50 names that have become consumer staples, providing it with long-term viability, pricing power, and retail leverage.
The company has loyal users, and it's boosting momentum through marketing campaigns that remind its global audience about its brands and benefits. Sales increased 7% year over year in the 2026 fiscal third quarter (ended March 31), with increases across all of its categories.
NYSE: PG
Key Data Points
These kinds of well-established consumer goods giants are often slow growing but cash rich, and they provide value for shareholders through their dividends. Operating cash flow was $4 billion in the third quarter, with what the company calls adjusted free cash flow productivity at 82%. This metric measures adjusted free cash flow as a percentage of earnings. It plans to pay $10 billion in dividends in 2026 and buy back $5 billion of its stock. It has a payout ratio of 62%, implying that it can cover a strong, growing dividend and still plow enough money back into maintaining a healthy and growing business.
The Dividend King has been paying a dividend since 1890, and it has raised the dividend annually for 70 years, a feat matched by only five other companies on the market. It yields 3% at the current price and is as reliable as they come.
2. Realty Income
Realty Income is one of the biggest real estate investment trusts (REITs) in the world, with more than 15,000 global properties. It rents its properties predominantly to large retail chains including Walmart and Lowe's. It's well funded at good rates to be able to keep buying new properties, with a large pipeline of quality sourced volume and a 5% selectivity rate. It has also expanded into new sectors, including industrials and gaming, which gives it more options and diversification.
NYSE: O
Key Data Points
Despite the challenging real estate environment, Realty Income has been demonstrating resilience, which is how you see the importance of its essentials-retailer tenant base. Adjusted funds from operations, the bottom-line REIT metric, was $1.08 in the 2025 fourth quarter, up from $1.05 the prior year.
Realty Income is the monthly dividend stock, and it has been paying its dividend every month without fail for more than 55 years. Throughout that time, it has raised the dividend for 114 quarters. That's an unmatched track record. Even better, the dividend yields 5.1% at the current price.
3. Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is the largest beverage company in the world, and it has a successful and efficient model of giving customers beverages they love and innovating with new flavors and brands to find the next major growth driver. Although its products seem ubiquitous, the company has long-term opportunities in entering new markets and sectors.
Today, it's a lot more than cola; it owns 200 brands in several categories, including dairy and sport. Some of its recent acquisitions include FairLife and Bodyarmor, brands that expand its reach and boost revenue.
NYSE: KO
Key Data Points
Customer loyalty gives it pricing power, and it has been able to generate higher sales and profits despite a difficult operating environment. In the 2026 first quarter, organic revenue increased 10% year over year, with comparable operating margin of 34.5%, up 33.8% last year.
Coca-Cola is also a Dividend King, and it just raised its dividend for the 64th year straight. It paid $8.8 billion in dividends in 2025, and with the latest increase, that should rise to about $9.2 billion this year. Its payout ratio is 65%, which is on the low side for Coca-Cola, and it implies that the company is performing so well that it can continue to fund and increase the dividend while retaining more of its cash to improve operations.
The dividend yields 2.6% at the current price, which is lower than the historical average. That's because it moves conversely with the stock price, and the stock is up 13% this year, seriously outperforming the S&P 500. You can rely on Coca-Cola stock to protect your portfolio when there's market volatility and to provide passive income all the time.
