Key Takeaways
- Realty Income yields 6.1% and Crown Castle yields 5.4%, and both are judged on their AFFO payout ratios.
- Realty Income paid out 75% of its AFFO in fiscal 2025, and consensus puts fiscal 2026 at 73%.
- Crown Castle’s dividend fell from $6.26 a share in fiscal 2024 to $4.75 in fiscal 2025, when it paid out 109% of its AFFO, and consensus puts fiscal 2026 at 93%.
- Realty Income trades at 12x forward AFFO, near the low end of its five-year range.
Any income investor hunting for a yield above 5% is going to run into Realty Income (O) and Crown Castle (CCI). Their dividends have been on very different paths.
On Sept. 8, Realty Income announced its 136th dividend increase since its 1994 listing. Crown Castle paid $1.0625 a share in the second quarter of 2026, unchanged from a year earlier and well below what it paid before 2025.
So which is the better high-yield dividend stock?
| Metric | Realty Income (O) | Crown Castle (CCI) |
|---|---|---|
| Forward yield | 6.1% | 5.4% |
| Dividend growth, fiscal 2020–2025 | 2.9% a year | -0.7% a year |
| Dividend record (company’s words) | Raised for over 31 consecutive years | Unchanged from a year earlier (Q2 2026) |
| AFFO payout ratio, fiscal 2025 | 75% | 109% |
| AFFO payout ratio, fiscal 2026 consensus | 73% | 93% |
| Net debt/EBITDA (LTM) | 5.74x | 6.51x |
| Price/AFFO (NTM) | 12.1x | 16.2x |
Realty Income’s cushion keeps getting wider
Realty Income’s dividend is well-covered. It paid out 75% of its AFFO in fiscal 2025 ($3.22 a share of dividends against $4.28 of AFFO per share), and 15 analysts put fiscal 2026 at 73%.
The cushion has grown for a decade. AFFO per share rose from $2.88 in fiscal 2016 to $4.28 in fiscal 2025, a bit faster than the dividend, so the payout ratio eased from 83% to 75%.
The business is still adding to it. AFFO per share rose 3.8% to $1.09 in the second quarter of 2026 from the same quarter a year before. Occupancy was 98.8% on June 30, 2026.
The main risk is the cost of capital. Growth depends on raising money at a good spread, and interest coverage was 2.35x over the last twelve months.
Crown Castle is rebuilding its cushion
Crown Castle’s yield sits in the same range, but its dividend has had a much rougher couple of years. Dividends per share went from $6.26 in fiscal 2024 to $4.75 in fiscal 2025, and the rate now is $4.25 a year.
AFFO per share fell further over the same years, from $6.98 to $4.36. That was the year Crown Castle moved to what President and CEO Chris Hillabrant calls “a clear pure-play US tower strategy.” Over the decade, the payout ratio climbed from 76% in fiscal 2016 to an uncovered 109% in fiscal 2025.
The forward picture is better. Seventeen analysts put fiscal 2026 AFFO at $4.58 a share against $4.25 of dividends, a thin 93% payout ratio. AFFO per share rose 10% to $1.13 in the second quarter of 2026 from $1.02 a year before.
CFO Sunit Patel expects that “over the next couple of years or so,” the company will “get to the point where the dividend payout is within the ratio of the range that we’ve talked about.” That range is 75% to 80% of AFFO, and Crown Castle plans to hold the dividend at $4.25 a year until it gets there. On the second-quarter call, Hillabrant called the dividend “sacrosanct.” Even so, a 93% payout leaves little room for raises.
The business is still shrinking in places. Site rental revenue fell 4% in the second quarter of 2026 from a year before, which the company puts down to DISH terminations and Sprint cancellations. Crown Castle’s stock jumped 15.6% on Oct. 9, to $79.64, after SpaceX agreed on Oct. 8 to buy nationwide spectrum for its Starlink phone service, which may need towers. SpaceX hasn’t signed a lease.
The main risk is the balance sheet. Net debt was 6.51x EBITDA over the last twelve months, just above the 6x to 6.5x range management targets.
So which dividend wins?
Realty Income is the better high-yield dividend stock. It pays more today and covers that payment far more comfortably.
$10,000 at its 6.1% yield pays $610 a year now. At its 2.9% five-year rate, that grows to about $790 in year 10, so call it a 7.9% yield on your cash. The same $10,000 in Crown Castle pays $540 a year now.
You aren’t paying up for that safety, either. At 12.1x forward AFFO on Oct. 9, 2026, Realty Income sits near the low end of its five-year range, against a 14.7x average, an 11.4x low in October 2023 and a 19.9x peak in October 2021.
Crown Castle does have a real case. AFFO per share is growing again, and consensus has the payout ratio dropping from 109% to 93% in a year. It’s just that, when it comes down to it, I’d rather own the dividend with a quarter of its AFFO to spare than one still climbing back from a cut.
Of course, if Crown Castle’s AFFO keeps growing the way its CFO expects, that payout ratio could look a lot healthier in a couple of years.
So what is Realty Income stock actually worth?
TIKR lets you forecast the future price of any stock in less than a minute. Just enter a few assumptions into TIKR’s valuation model and see what Realty Income could be worth. Start from Wall Street consensus estimates, or adjust the inputs to reflect your own view of the business. It’s free to use.
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!
