You can score a 4.4% yield from 10-year Treasuries — so investors demand extra wealth for taking risk. Enter some S&P 500 stocks yielding 6% or higher — including a company selling products hazardous to your health.
Cigarette maker Altria is one of 11 S&P 500 stocks with a yield over 6%, says an Investor's Business Daily analysis of data from S&P Global Market Intelligence and MarketSurge. It joins chemical maker Dow and automaker Ford Motor.
Rich dividends are all the more valuable as increases to these payments slow down. "Dividend growth has continued, but is noticeably slower than had been hoped for, though it is in line with expectations given the economic uncertainties," says Howard Silverblatt of S&P Dow Jones Indices.
A Status Report On Dividends
All told, S&P 500 companies are expected to boost their dividends by 6% this year, Silverblatt says. This marks a deceleration in growth in payments — and an erosion in yields.
"For the 12-months ending June 2025, U.S. common dividend increases were $57.6 billion, down 26.8% from the 12-month June 2024 period's $78.7 billion," he said.
At this point, 407 stocks or 80.9% in the S&P 500 pay a dividend. That's the same as in the first quarter of this year and up from the 403 that paid one in the second quarter of 2024.
But dividend yields usually move in the opposite direction of stock prices. And with the S&P 500 up an impressive 7% this year, that puts pressure on yield. Yields were lower for the second quarter "as prices increased faster than dividends," Silverblatt said. "Large-cap yields decreased to 1.25% from 1.37% for the first quarter of 2025.
And that's why rich dividends are standouts.
Big Dividends And Stock Gains, Too
Altria isn't the highest yielding stock in the S&P 500 (that's Dow at 9.8%), but its 7% yield pairs up with a rising stock price.
Shares of Altria are up 11% this year. That not only tops the S&P 500, but it's much higher than the 13.2% year-to-date average loss of the 11 S&P 500 stocks yielding 6% or more. Still, the chart isn't as promising as its yield. Its RS Rating is just 61 and EPS Rating just 70. Analysts think the company's profit will rise 5% in 2025 and another 3% in 2026.
Ford Motor is another high S&P 500 yielder with a rising stock price. Shares of Ford are up nearly 13% this year on top of yielding 6.7%. Too bad the chart doesn't look great. Ford's RS Rating is just 47 and EPS Rating is 71. Analysts are braced for a 41% drop in earnings this year followed by a partial recovery of 25% in 2026.
The Biggest Yield In The S&P 500
And that's been the challenge of dividends. To get high yields, you've had to take losses on the stocks. Take Dow, a chemical company that yields nearly 10%. Shares of the stock have tanked nearly 30% this year — more than wiping out the yield.
Dow's RS Rating has crumbled to just 8 and its EPS Rating is only 6. Analysts think the company's profit will sag 87% this year.
And that's the challenge for dividend investors — chasing yield rarely pays off.
Top Yielders In S&P 500
| Company | Ticker | YTD stock % ch. | Sector | Yield |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dow | DOW | -29.6% | Materials | 9.8% |
| LyondellBasell Industries | LYB | -15.3% | Materials | 8.7 |
| Conagra Brands | CAG | -31.5% | Consumer Staples | 7.4 |
| Altria Group | MO | 11.0% | Consumer Staples | 7.0 |
| Pfizer | PFE | -7.8% | Health Care | 7.0 |
| Ford Motor | F | 12.5% | Consumer Discretionary | 6.7 |
| Alexandria Real Estate Equities | ARE | -19.9% | Real Estate | 6.7 |
| Healthpeak Properties | DOC | -9.4% | Real Estate | 6.6 |
| Verizon Communications | VZ | 1.9% | Communication Services | 6.6 |
| United Parcel Service | UPS | -21.5% | Industrials | 6.6 |
| Edison International | EIX | -36.0% | Utilities | 6.4 |
