More than 75% of the stocks in the S&P 500 pay a dividend, and the dividend for many of them exceeds the yield on U.S. 10-year Treasury bonds (currently around 4.1%).
However, screening for the highest-paying dividend stocks in the S&P 500 reveals some even more impressive yields. In fact, all of the top 10 highest-paying dividend stocks in the S&P 500 yield above 6%.
Higher yields come with higher risks, though. Many of these stocks’ yields are so high because they’re struggling, and some may end up slashing their dividends.
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From highest yield (11.2%) to lowest yield (6.2%), here are the 10 highest-paying dividend stocks in the S&P 500 today:
The 10 Highest-Paying Dividend Stocks in the S&P 500
| Rank | Company (Ticker) | Dividend Yield |
| 1 | LyondellBasell (LYB) | 11.2% |
| 2 | United Parcel Service (UPS) | 7.60% |
| 3 | Conagra (CAG) | 7.40% |
| 4 | Altria (MO) | 6.50% |
| 5 | Healthpeak Properties (DOC) | 6.40% |
| 6 | Alexandria Real Estate (ARE) | 6.40% |
| 7 | Pfizer (PFE) | 6.40% |
| 8 | Verizon (VZ) | 6.40% |
| 9 | Amcore (AMCR) | 6.20% |
| 10 | Kraft Heinz (KHC) | 6.20% |
Here’s a closer look at each one of the top 10 highest-paying dividend stocks.
1. LyondellBasell (LYB)
Dividend Yield: 11.2%
LyondellBasell is an international chemical company with U.S. operations headquartered in Houston, TX. The company is the third-largest independent chemical manufacturer in the U.S. and the largest licensor of polyethylene and polypropylene technologies, which are used in a variety of packaging, automotive and transportation, agricultural and sports and leisure applications and more.
As for the stock, the dividend is about all it offers for investors these days, as shares are down 33% in the last year and are trading at multi-year lows, having shown little upside aside from the period immediately after the firm’s operations emerged from bankruptcy in 2010.
2. United Parcel Service (UPS)
Dividend Yield: 7.6%
UPS is probably the best-known name on this list as it’s a Fortune 500 company and the world’s largest package delivery company.
Every business day, the company delivers packages from 1.6 million shipping customers to 10.1 million delivery customers in over 200 countries and territories. In 2024, UPS delivered an average of 22.4 million packages per day, totaling 5.7 billion packages during the year.
The company has been steadily increasing its dividends for the last 25 years (although the pace of hikes has slowed down a touch of late) and is currently paying $1.64 every quarter (up from $1.63 last year).
As for the stock, it’s been churning lower since its 2021 peak and has fallen more than 10% in the last decade.
3. Conagra Brands (CAG)
Dividend Yield: 7.4%
Conagra Brands, a Chicago-based company that was originally incorporated in 1919, is a well-known food purveyor that offers refrigerated, frozen and shelf-stable products under a portfolio of brands, including Birds Eye, Marie Callender’s, Duncan Hines, Healthy Choice, Slim Jim, Reddi-wip, Angie’s, BOOMCHICKAPOP, and more.
The company also offers branded and customized food products, including meals, entrees, sauces, and various custom-manufactured culinary products packaged for restaurants and other foodservice establishments.
The company pays a $0.35 quarterly dividend and has been raising the dividend for the last six years, but with a 200% payout ratio, it’s fair to wonder how long they can keep it up.
Like many names on this list, the elevated yield is partially owing to poor share performance, as CAG is down 36% in the last year and 48% in the last five.
4. Altria (MO)
Dividend Yield: 6.5%
Altria is well known as one of the world’s biggest producers of tobacco and other smoking-related products. The company is equally well known as being one of the most persistent high-dividend payers among U.S.-based, blue-chip companies, with a current quarterly dividend of $1.06 per share (this was raised from $1.02 in mid-2025).
Indeed, Altria’s dividend payouts have just about doubled in the last 10 years. And while some investors are concerned that Altria’s cigarette and tobacco business likely faces headwinds from consumers’ shifting preferences, its investments in increasingly popular vaping and cannabis products should ensure the company’s revenue growth going forward.
5. Healthpeak Properties (DOC)
Dividend Yield: 6.4%
Healthpeak Properties is a real estate investment trust (REIT) with an emphasis on the healthcare space, with investments in senior housing, medical facilities and life sciences properties.
The company has 697 properties totalling 49 million square feet and $24 billion in total assets.
Last year, the company bought back 10.5 million shares ($188 million) and raised its dividend. More recently, the company transitioned to a monthly dividend payment in April 2025.
Rising interest rates are tough for REITs, and DOC was no exception, as shares are down 33% in the last five years.
But given the nature of their business and the aging population, DOC definitely has some tailwinds behind it.
6. Alexandria Real Estate Equities (ARE)
Dividend Yield: 6.4%
Alexandria Real Estate Equities (ARE) is a U.S.-based Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) specializing in office buildings and laboratories leased to tenants primarily engaged in the life science and technology sectors. It has over 800 tenants primarily in locations that are clusters for innovation in greater Boston, the San Fransico Bay area, New York City, San Diego, Seatle, and Washington, D.C.
The primarily state-of-the-art laboratory properties are mostly clustered in urban life science, agricultural technology, and technology campuses in the U.S. Properties are leased to tenants under long-term triple net leases with automatic rent escalations. Triple net leases account for just about all of revenues.
As a REIT, a high dividend yield is par for the course, but Alexandria’s has been boosted by abysmal share price performance. Shares are down 29% in the last year, 50% in the last five and are trading at levels last seen more than a decade ago.
7. Pfizer (PFE)
Dividend Yield: 6.4%
Originally established in New York over 170 years ago, Pfizer is an American-headquartered multinational pharmaceutical and biotech company. The company has been a (mostly) reliable dividend payer for years, albeit inconsistently, with the last major dividend cuts coming on the heels of the Great Financial Crisis.
But since then, they’ve steadily (if slowly) been raising their dividend, with the last hike in Q1 raising their quarterly dividend from $0.42 to $0.43. As for the stock, it’s fallen 22% in the last five years and is trading at levels last seen in 2012, and that’s despite a recent bump in shares on the heels of the TrumpRx prescription website announcement that was accompanied by a new pricing deal with the company.
8. Verizon (VZ)
Dividend Yield: 6.4%
Verizon provides wired and wireless connectivity to consumers and businesses through their 4GLTE and 5G wireless networks and their wired telecom and Fios fiber optic network. The company is a dividend stalwart and regularly appears on the list of highest-paying dividend stocks. The company also offers investors exposure to the growth of the Internet of Things (IOT) and is generally an attractive long-term holding.
9. Amcor plc (AMCR)
Dividend Yield: 6.2%
Amcor is a consumer goods and healthcare packaging company headquartered out of Victoria, Australia. The company boasts 77,000 employees operating in more than 40 countries and does $23 billion in business every year.
The company currently pays $0.51 in dividends annually (up from $0.50 last year) and has been growing the dividend for the last six years.
But, like most of the names on this list, shares have been struggling lately, down 27% in the last year and trading at five-year lows.
10. Kraft Heinz (KHC)
Dividend Yield: 6.2%
Kraft Heinz likely needs no introduction, although its corporate history may need some elaboration.
The company is one of the largest food and beverage companies in the world, with a portfolio of brands that includes Kraft, Heinz, Boca Burger, Grey Poupon, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia Cream Cheese and more.
The company (as it exists now) is the product of the remainder of the original Kraft (following the split-off of Mondelez International in 2012) and a subsequent merger (in 2015) with H.J. Heinz.
The company currently pays a $0.40 quarterly dividend (which has remained stable since it was lowered in 2019), and shares have struggled mightily since the split-up and merger.
Shares are down 25% in the last year, 15% in the last five, and 44% since Mondelez was split off in 2012.
Although it may not be an unmitigated disaster, the Kraft/Heinz merger has been enough of a failure (as you can see from the dividend cut and share price performance) that Kraft Heinz announced plans to de-merge in early September, which will likely take effect in the second half of next year.
There you have it: those are the 10 highest-paying dividend stocks in the S&P 500 today. If you want the best dividend stocks right now, regardless of yield, I highly recommend subscribing to our Cabot Dividend Investor advisory, where chief analyst Tom Hutchinson has a portfolio full of dividend-paying stocks that offer generous yields and strong share price growth.
To learn more, click here.
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*This post is periodically updated to reflect market conditions.
