Key Takeaways
- VICI Properties yields 7.4% and EPR Properties yields 6.3%, and both raised their 2026 guidance with third-quarter results on Oct. 28.
- EPR’s dividend took 68% of its fiscal 2025 AFFO and 66% of fiscal 2026 consensus, against 74% for both years at VICI, but EPR suspended its dividend in 2020 and 2021.
- VICI’s third quarter included a large non-cash credit-loss charge tied to Caesars, its biggest tenant.
- What to watch: how VICI settles its Caesars regional lease, and how fast EPR shifts its portfolio away from theaters.
VICI Properties (VICI) and EPR Properties (EPR) both raised their 2026 guidance with third-quarter results on Oct. 28, and both pay big yields.
For a retiree living on dividends, that’s real money. But EPR’s quarter brought revenue up 12%, while VICI’s came with a $478.2 million non-cash charge tied to Caesars, its biggest tenant.
So which is the better dividend stock for retirees?
| Metric | VICI Properties (VICI) | EPR Properties (EPR) |
|---|---|---|
| Dividend yield | 7.4% | 6.3% |
| Current dividend | $1.84 a year, paid quarterly | $3.72 a year, paid monthly |
| Dividend growth | 7.1% a year, fiscal 2020-2025 | 2.7% a year, fiscal 2022-2025 |
| Dividend record | 9th consecutive year of growth (company’s count) | Suspended May 2020-June 2021 |
| AFFO payout ratio, fiscal 2025 | 74% | 68% |
| AFFO payout ratio, fiscal 2026 consensus | 74% | 66% |
| Net debt / EBITDA (LTM) | 5.4x | 6.0x |
Source: TIKR and company releases, as of Nov. 5, 2026.
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VICI pays more, and Caesars is the catch
VICI’s business is still growing. Third-quarter revenue rose 5.8% to $1.1 billion, AFFO per share rose 4.3% to $0.62, and VICI raised its 2026 AFFO guidance to $2.47-$2.48 a share, from $2.45-$2.47.
Management calls the dividend “very well covered with an AFFO payout ratio of approximately 75% per share based on the midpoint of our 2026 AFFO guidance.” The numbers back that up. VICI’s payout has stayed between 70% and 79% of AFFO every year from fiscal 2018 to fiscal 2025, as dividends and AFFO per share both rose every year:
On the third-quarter call, CEO Edward Pitoniak called that 75% level “a benchmark that we believed in from day 1.”
Caesars is the risk. The charge came from a credit-rating downgrade tied to Caesars’ merger closing, and it cut third-quarter net income attributable to common stockholders by 55.1%. Management is still weighing whether to restructure or sell parts of the Caesars regional lease and hasn’t reached a decision.
EPR covers more, but it has stopped before
EPR’s quarter had no charge like VICI’s, and its dividend takes a smaller share of its cash flow. Third-quarter AFFO per share rose 10.8% to $1.54, and EPR raised its 2026 FFOAA guidance to $5.49-$5.57 a share, 8.0% above 2025 at the midpoint. Analysts expect AFFO per share of $5.60 in fiscal 2026, up from $5.14, which would ease the payout to a comfortable 66% from 68%.
On Oct. 29, EPR said theaters are now about a third of its portfolio, and it’s working toward a long-term goal of about 20%.
EPR’s weak spot is its record. It suspended its monthly dividend from May 2020 to June 2021, restarted at $0.25 a month, and its fiscal 2025 dividend of $3.52 a share is still below the $4.50 it paid in fiscal 2019:
Since the restart, EPR has paid out between 63% and 70% of AFFO each year from fiscal 2022 to fiscal 2025.
It also carries more debt, at 6.0x net debt to EBITDA against VICI’s 5.4x, with interest coverage of 2.8x against VICI’s 3.8x.
So which dividend wins?
VICI is the better dividend stock for retirees. Retirees seeking income want a check they can count on, and VICI pays the bigger yield, has raised its dividend for nine straight years and carries less debt.
That lead holds up over time. At the pace each raised its dividend in fiscal 2025, 3.5% apiece, $10,000 in VICI would pay about $1,011 in year 10, against about $861 from EPR. So, call it a 10% yield on your cash today, and EPR’s income never catches up.
The bigger yield also comes at a discount. VICI trades at 9.9x forward AFFO, against 11x for EPR and well below its own five-year average of 14x:
This isn’t to say EPR’s dividend isn’t safe. It uses less of its AFFO, its guidance just went up again, and each step away from theaters spreads its rent across more kinds of tenants. It’s just that, for retirement income, I’d rather own the dividend that kept rising through 2020, at the bigger yield, with the stronger balance sheet.
Of course, VICI still has to settle the Caesars regional lease. If it ends up taking less rent there, it would have less AFFO to pay the dividend from, so watch what management says about the lease on its next call.
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Disclaimer:
Please note that the articles on TIKR are not intended to serve as investment or financial advice from TIKR or our content team, nor are they recommendations to buy or sell any stocks. We create our content based on TIKR Terminal’s investment data and analysts’ estimates. Our analysis might not include recent company news or important updates. TIKR has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading, and happy investing!
