Key Takeaways
- Healthpeak Properties yields 6.7% against Realty Income’s 6.1%, and both pay their dividends monthly.
- Realty Income says it has raised its dividend for over 31 consecutive years, while Healthpeak’s dividend per share fell from $2.10 in fiscal 2016 to $1.22 in fiscal 2025.
- Healthpeak paid out 72% of its fiscal 2025 AFFO against Realty Income’s 75%, but analysts expect 78% against 73% in fiscal 2026.
- The two REITs trade at nearly the same price, about 12x forward AFFO.
Any investor hunting for a 6%-plus yield, paid monthly, is going to land on REITs like Realty Income (O) and Healthpeak Properties (DOC). Both raised their 2026 outlooks with second-quarter results in early August.
Healthpeak pays the bigger check, a 6.7% yield against 6.1% for Realty Income. Realty Income counters with its record. Its stated mission is to “deliver dependable monthly dividends that increase over time,” and it says it has raised its dividend for over 31 consecutive years.
Both are REITs, so each is judged on its AFFO payout ratio. So which is the better high-yield dividend stock?
| Metric | Realty Income (O) | Healthpeak (DOC) |
|---|---|---|
| Dividend yield | 6.1% | 6.7% |
| Dividend growth, fiscal 2020–2025 | 2.9% a year | -3.8% a year |
| AFFO payout ratio, fiscal 2025 | 75% | 72% |
| AFFO payout ratio, fiscal 2026 consensus | 73% | 78% |
| Net debt/EBITDA (LTM) | 5.74x | 5.44x |
| Interest coverage (LTM) | 2.35x | 1.49x |
| Price/AFFO (NTM) | 12.1x | 12.2x |
Realty Income keeps the raises coming
Realty Income’s dividend is well-covered. It paid out 75% of its AFFO in fiscal 2025 ($3.22 a share against $4.28), and analysts expect that to ease to 73% in fiscal 2026, as AFFO per share climbs to $4.44.
That consensus sits at the low end of management’s own range. In August, Realty Income raised its 2026 AFFO guidance to $4.44 to $4.45 a share, from $4.41 to $4.44, after AFFO per share rose 3.8% to $1.09 in the second quarter of 2026 from a year earlier. Occupancy was 98.8% at June 30, 2026. It’s also leaning less on its own stock to fund growth: public equity covered 18% of its investment volume in 2026 through the second quarter, against an average of 47% over the past three years.
AFFO per share rose every year from $2.88 in fiscal 2016 to $4.28 in fiscal 2025, and the dividend climbed with it, from $2.39 to $3.22.
(The payout ratio eased from 83.0% in fiscal 2016 to 75.2% in fiscal 2025, so the raises haven’t outrun the cash.)
The catch is the pace. Raises of 2.9% a year from fiscal 2020 to fiscal 2025 make for a slow-growing check, and Realty Income carries a bit more debt than Healthpeak, at 5.74x net debt to EBITDA against 5.44x.
Healthpeak’s comeback has further to go
Healthpeak’s chart tells a very different story from Realty Income’s. Its dividend fell from $2.10 a share in fiscal 2016 to $1.20 by fiscal 2021, as AFFO per share slid from $2.57 to $1.35.
(AFFO per share has since recovered to $1.69 in fiscal 2025, and the payout ratio has fallen from 102.1% in fiscal 2020 to a well-covered 72.2%.)
Fiscal 2025 also brought a small raise, to $1.22 a share from $1.20. Senior housing is driving the business: revenue rose 45% in the second quarter of 2026 from a year earlier. Lab is the drag, with same-store adjusted NOI down 3.2% over the same period, though lab occupancy rose 80 basis points from the first quarter to 78.5%.
The forward number is the problem. Analysts expect AFFO per share to slip to $1.57 in fiscal 2026, which lifts the payout ratio to a tighter 78%.
CEO Scott Brinker said on the second-quarter call that “This is not the right environment to have elevated leverage.” He’s right to say so, given that Healthpeak’s interest coverage is a thin 1.49x.
So which dividend wins?
Realty Income is the better high-yield dividend stock. What decides it is where each dividend is heading. Realty Income’s AFFO has risen every year for a decade and is expected to keep climbing, while Healthpeak’s is expected to slip in fiscal 2026.
Healthpeak’s 5-year rate starts from a cut, so compare each dividend at its pace now: 2.9% for Realty Income and 1.7% for Healthpeak, their fiscal 2025 raises. At those rates, Realty Income’s income would pass Healthpeak’s in about 2034. And at 12.1x forward AFFO, Realty Income costs no more than Healthpeak does at 12.2x.
Healthpeak’s case is real. It pays the bigger check, $670 a year on $10,000 against $610. It covered that check slightly better out of fiscal 2025’s AFFO, and it carries a little less debt. It’s just that, when it comes down to it, Realty Income’s record, rising AFFO and far stronger interest coverage make its check the one I’d count on.
Of course, Healthpeak’s lab recovery is still playing out. If lab occupancy keeps climbing, analysts’ AFFO estimates could turn up, and that bigger check would look a lot sturdier.
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!
