Here’s How Much You Could Earn Annually in Dividends With These 5 Different Investments

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Whether you’re a naïve beginner investor or a seasoned pro, having a part of your portfolio dedicated to dividend-paying stocks makes sense. Dividend stocks are shares of companies that pay shareholders a portion of their profits in the form of dividends based on the number of shares they own.

This happens primarily when a company has excess cash that is not being reinvested into the company. This excess cash is divided up among shareholders and paid out to them on a monthly, quarterly, semi-annual or annual basis.

Here are five popular stocks that will appeal to novice dividend investors based on annual dividends, dividend yields, what the company is paying out of earnings and cash flow, owning shares could make you in 2025.

Altria Group (MO)

• Annual Dividend: $4.08 per share
• Dividend Yield: 7.34%
• Percentage of Earnings/Cash Flow Paid Out in Dividends: 62.29%/75.45%
• Current Stock Price: $54.85
• Owning 100 shares of MO could make you $408 in dividends in 2025

These are uncertain times for U.S. tobacco companies, as they try to transform their image and be part of the public health solution to end smoking — like Altria is doing with its “Moving Beyond Smoking” campaign. Despite health, environmental and social concerns, tobacco companies have been extremely profitable for their shareholders, producing cash flow that has been distributed in the form of significant dividend payouts.

Investors who held Altria stock before December 26, 2024, received their first dividend payout of $1.02 a share on January 10, 2025. High dividend yields look irresistible but could be a sign of a faltering business. No worries with Altria, which has grown its dividend for 56 consecutive years, with an average annual increase of 1.43%, according to MarketBeat. The company currently pays out 62.29% of its earnings and 76.06% of its cash flow as dividends.

Ford Motor Co. (F)

• Annual Dividend: $0.60 per share
• Dividend Yield: 6.33%
• Percentage of Earnings/Cash Flow Paid Out in Dividends: 41.10%/17.73%
• Current Stock Price: $9.47
• Owning 100 shares of F could make you $60 in dividends in 2025

Due to COVID, Ford temporarily stopped dividend payouts in 2020. It subsequently reinstated them at 10 cents per share for a few quarters before bringing it back to the 15-cent level it was before the epidemic, per Forbes. However, Ford also issued two special dividends in February 2023 and 2024 ($0.63 in 2023; $0.18 in 2024).

Ford Motor (F) pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share, and currently has a dividend yield of 6.33%. While that dividend might not seem like much, shares of Ford are currently trading for under $10 and Insider Monkey ranks Ford as the best low-priced stock to invest in now.

Lockheed Martin Co. (LMT)

• Annual Dividend: $13.20 per share
• Dividend Yield: 2.99%
• Percentage of Earnings/Cash Flow Paid Out in Dividends: 59.30%/36.68%
• Current Stock Price: $441.50
• Owning 100 shares of LMT could make you $1,320 in dividends in 2025

Defense contractors such as Lockheed Martin are relatively safe dividend stocks because the majority of their revenue is derived from long-term contracts with the United States government, which will unquestionably be increasing military spending for at least the next four years. Defense stocks tend to be safer and less volatile than tech or biotech investments.

At the end of January, Lockheed Martin’s board of directors authorized a first-quarter 2025 dividend of $3.30 per share, payable on March 28 to investors who own stock before the ex-dividend date of March 3. With an average annual increase of 2.07%, LMT has grown its dividend for 22 consecutive years, according to MarketBeat.

Realty Income (O)

• Annual Dividend: $3.21 per share
• Dividend Yield: 5.73%
• Percentage of Earnings/Cash Flow Paid Out in Dividends: 305.71%/84.88%
• Current Stock Price: $56.10
• Owning 100 shares of O could make you $321 in dividends in 2025

Realty Income (O) pays an annual dividend of $3.21 per share, with a dividend yield of 5.73%. Realty Income pays dividends monthly, and a payment of $0.2680 per share is scheduled for March 14 to investors who own stock before the ex-dividend date of March 3, according to its website. The company has an eyepopping dividend payout ratio of 305.71% of its earnings and 84.30% of its cash flow.

Those payout percentages would suggest an unsustainable business, but real estate investment funds (REITs), typically have exceptionally high yields and payout ratios since they must pay out a big portion of their income in the form of dividends. REITs must distribute 90% of their earnings to shareholders through dividends, according to Dividend Investor, but to assess whether to invest in a REIT, it’s best to use the funds from operations (FFO) payout ratio.

Verizon Communications (VZ)

• Annual Dividend: $2.71 per share
• Dividend Yield: 6.28%
• Percentage of Earnings/Cash Flow Paid Out in Dividends: 65.46%/30.14%
• Current Stock Price: $43.18
• Owning 100 shares of VZ could earn you $271 in dividends in 2025

Verizon is America’s largest wireless carrier by customer count, according to Forbes, and has a long-standing reputation for network quality and reliability. The company’s significant 5G infrastructure investments and strategic focus on premium clients have helped it maintain industry-leading profitability. According to GlobeNewswire, Verizon and its collaborators — Ericsson and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. — just set a new 5G upload speed record this week.

Verizon Communications (VZ) pays an annual dividend of $2.71 per share, with a dividend yield of 6.28%. The last quarterly payment of $0.6775 per share was paid on February 3 to investors who owned VZ stock before the ex-dividend date of Jan. 10. VZ has grown its dividend for 20 consecutive years, with an average annual increase of 0.64%. The company currently pays out 65.46% of its earnings and 30.14% of its cash flow as dividends, per MarketBeat, and 100 shares will net you around $271 in dividends in 2025.

Stock prices are accurate as of closing on February 26.

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