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The 10-year Treasury yield sits at 4.49%, which is in the 93rd percentile of its 12-month range. This is the number every dividend investor should have taped to their monitors this July, as this is the hurdle any equity income name will have to clear before earning a spot in the portfolio. Three large-cap payers are doing exactly that right now, each offering yields well above the risk-free rate and multi-decade growth streaks behind them. That’s why I’m looking forward to adding all three this month.
Altria (MO)
Altria (NYSE:MO | MO price prediction) This has quietly become one of the better mega-cap dividend stories of 2026. Shares are up 28.66% year to date and 28.73% over the last year, yet the stock still yields 5.78% and trades at a Forward P/E of just 13. The quarterly dividend was increased to $1.06, with the next payment landing on July 10, 2026, extending the payout series to what the company describes as its 60th increase in the past 56 years.
The bull case is fundamental momentum. Q1 2026 adjusted EPS of $1.32 beat the $1.25 consensus, revenue increased 20.1% year over year, and management reaffirmed full-year adjusted EPS guidance of $5.56 to $5.72. Despite the decline in US cigarette volumes, smokable operating income still grew by 6.3%, and counting! The oral nicotine brand shipped 17.6% more units. There is $720 million left in the buyback program at the end of the year.
alert: Marlboro Retail shares slipped 1.4 points to 39.7%, and the company still has negative stockholder equity of about $3.2 billion. Altria is a cash-flow story, not a growth story. Investors who accept a decline in structural volume in exchange for a fatter, rising check will like the setup.
Enbridge (ENB)
Enbridge (NYSE:ENB) It is the highest yielding name on this list with 7.13%, and the recent decline has made the entry point more interesting. Shares have declined 5.04% in the past month, while still being up 14.79% year-to-date. The most recent US-denominated quarterly dividend was $0.707, paid on June 1, 2026, and the company extends its streak of 31 consecutive annual dividend increases.
What I like is the visibility. Enbridge reaffirmed adjusted EBITDA guidance of C$20.2 billion to C$20.8 billion and distributable cash flow per share of C$5.70 to C$6.10 in 2026, with management guiding for approximately 5% CAGR in EBITDA, EPS and DCF after this year. The C$40 billion secured development backlog, the data-center power partnership with Meta over 1 GW, and the system-wide split on the mainline all point to booked, fee-based cash flow rather than commodity roulette.
alert: For US investors, Enbridge is a Canadian issuer, so dividends are generally subject to Canadian withholding tax (usually refundable in a taxable account through foreign tax credits, but not inside most IRAs). Leverage also sits at 5.0x, which is at the top of management’s target band, and CAD/USD moves will keep the USD dividend a moving target.
NNN Reit (NNN)
NNN Reit (NYSE: NNN) Triple-net retail landlord, I keep coming back there when rates go up. The stock’s yield on the share price of $47.23 is 5.08%, and it is up 19.48% year to date. Management increased the quarterly payment to 60 cents on May 15. The company cites 36 consecutive years of annual dividend increases, one of the longest such periods in the REIT sector.
Q1 2026 achieved revenues of $240.42 million versus estimates of $238.39 million, portfolio occupancy of 98.6% and acquisitions of $145.4 million at a 7.5% initial cash cap rate. Full-year AFFO per share guidance was raised to $3.53 from $3.59. With 97% of annual base rent coming from built-in escalators and 63.1% from public or rated tenants, the cash flow behind that dividend is unusually sustainable.
WARNING: Interest expense increases from $47.7 million to $52.7 million, and losses increase to $10.7 million after 2025 tenant bankruptcy (Frisch, Badcock). If the 10-year continues to move as high as 4.67% in May 2026, expect net-lease multiples to be tested again.
what to look forward to
All three names overcome fiscal hurdles, all three have decades of dividend growth behind them, and all three come with a specific, identifiable risk rather than vague risk. When the risk-free rate is this high, this is what a July shopping list should look like.
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