Key Takeaways
- W. P. Carey yields 6.0% and Crown Castle 5.4%, and both paid less per share in fiscal 2025 than in fiscal 2020.
- W. P. Carey’s dividend used 73% of its AFFO in fiscal 2025, while Crown Castle’s used 109%.
- Analysts expect Crown Castle’s AFFO payout ratio to fall to 93% in fiscal 2026, against 71% for W. P. Carey.
- W. P. Carey’s net debt is 5.7x EBITDA over the last twelve months, against 6.5x for Crown Castle.
Anyone hunting for a yield above 5% is going to run into stocks like W. P. Carey (WPC) and Crown Castle (CCI). At the Oct. 9 close, W. P. Carey yielded 6.0% and Crown Castle 5.4%.
Both checks have shrunk, though. W. P. Carey paid $3.62 a share in fiscal 2025, down from $4.17 in fiscal 2020. Crown Castle paid $4.75, down from $4.93. The two split on what’s happened since: W. P. Carey raised its quarterly dividend to $0.950 on Sept. 18, its third raise of 2026, while Crown Castle’s $1.0625 is unchanged from a year ago.
So which is the better high-yield dividend stock?
| Metric | W. P. Carey (WPC) | Crown Castle (CCI) |
|---|---|---|
| Dividend yield | 6.0% | 5.4% |
| Dividend growth a year, fiscal 2020–2025 | -2.8% | -0.7% |
| AFFO payout ratio, fiscal 2025 | 73% | 109% |
| AFFO payout ratio, fiscal 2026 consensus | 71% | 93% |
| Net debt/EBITDA, LTM | 5.7x | 6.5x |
| Interest coverage (EBIT/interest), LTM | 3.2x | 2.1x |
W. P. Carey is growing into its dividend
W. P. Carey’s AFFO came to $1.34 a share in the second quarter of 2026, up 4.7% from $1.28 a year earlier. Management raised its 2026 AFFO guidance to $5.19 to $5.27 a share, 5.2% growth at the midpoint, and said on Sept. 10 that AFFO is on track to beat the midpoint.
Its AFFO payout ratio was a comfortable 73% in fiscal 2025, and consensus puts it at 71% for fiscal 2026. AFFO per share topped the dividend every year from fiscal 2016 to fiscal 2025, and the ratio fell from 88% in fiscal 2020 to 73% in fiscal 2025.
That matches the policy management laid out in April: “We expect our dividend to continue to grow in line with our AFFO growth while maintaining a conservative payout ratio.” Its June raise, 4.4% above a year earlier, sat just under the 5.2% AFFO growth it guides to.
The main risk is its tenants. Hellweg has filed for insolvency, but W. P. Carey has cut its exposure from 35 stores to 16, and by Sept. 10 it had signed new leases for about 64% of Hellweg’s rent.
Crown Castle needs its AFFO to catch up
Crown Castle is still working toward the cushion W. P. Carey already has. Its site rental revenues fell 4% to $967 million in the second quarter of 2026, which management puts down to DISH’s terminations and Sprint’s cancellations. AFFO per share rose 10% in the quarter, to $1.13 from $1.02. Its 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.
Crown Castle’s AFFO payout ratio climbed from 73% in fiscal 2020 to 90% in fiscal 2024, then hit 109% in fiscal 2025, when AFFO per share fell to $4.36 from $6.98.
Consensus expects that ratio to drop to a still-tight 93% in fiscal 2026, as the $4.25 annual rate runs for a full year, against the $4.75 paid in fiscal 2025, and analysts expect AFFO per share to rise to $4.58, inside management’s $4.53 to $4.65 outlook. CFO Sunit Patel expects the payout to reach its 75% to 80% target “over the next couple of years or so,” and Crown Castle plans to hold the dividend at $4.25 until then.
Crown Castle’s net debt is 6.5x EBITDA, at the top of the 6x to 6.5x range it targets, and its $3.5 billion claim in DISH’s bankruptcy is unresolved.
So which dividend wins?
W. P. Carey is the better high-yield dividend stock. It pays the bigger yield and covers it with far more room, 73% against 109% in fiscal 2025 and 71% against 93% on fiscal 2026 consensus. It also carries less debt and is raising its dividend again.
Crown Castle’s 5-year rate is better, and at those rates its income on $10,000 would pass W. P. Carey’s around 2032. But both rates take in a drop in the dividend. At each dividend’s pace now, W. P. Carey up 3.7% in fiscal 2025 and Crown Castle flat, Crown Castle never catches up: in year 10, $10,000 pays about $834 from W. P. Carey and about $540 from Crown Castle.
And you’re not paying up for it. W. P. Carey trades at 11.9x forward AFFO, below its five-year average of 13.5x.
This isn’t to say Crown Castle’s dividend is in trouble. Its AFFO is growing, its payout ratio should fall in fiscal 2026, and CEO Christian Hillabrant calls the dividend “sacrosanct.” It’s just that W. P. Carey already has the coverage Crown Castle is still working toward.
Of course, Crown Castle’s DISH claim is still in bankruptcy court, and a recovery there would help it close the gap.
So what is W. P. Carey stock actually worth?
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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!
