3 High-Yield Dividend Stocks I'd Buy in September With No Hesitation

Altria, Verizon and Realty Income offer dividend yields above 5%, at 6.4%, 5.4% and 5.6%, respectively, with differing cash-flow support and risk profiles. Altria raised its dividend 4.7% but faces declining cigarette volumes; Verizon expects 2026 free cash flow to rise 9%-10% despite $129B of net unsecured debt; Realty Income maintains nearly 99% occupancy and a 75% AFFO payout ratio. The article views all three as attractive income holdings, while highlighting financing, leverage and long-term business-model risks.

Analysis

This is principally a rates-and-credit relative-value setup, not a standalone dividend catalyst. O’s incremental acquisition spread is highly sensitive to long-end Treasury yields and equity issuance capacity: a sustained 50 bp decline in financing costs would expand accretion potential and justify multiple expansion versus net-lease peers NNN and WPC; a renewed rise in the 10-year would quickly impair external-growth economics despite stable property-level operations. The near-term market signal is therefore Treasury direction and REIT capital-markets access, not occupancy.

VZ’s equity duration is shorter than O’s but its valuation remains constrained by leverage and spectrum/capex demands. The key upside mechanism over the next 1-3 months is evidence that wireless price increases and broadband additions convert to debt reduction rather than simply funding distributions; that would narrow the valuation discount to TMUS and reduce refinancing-risk perceptions. Conversely, a promotional response from T or TMUS that raises churn or subscriber-acquisition costs would expose how little operating flexibility VZ has after fixed obligations.

MO’s yield should not be treated as a low-volatility bond proxy. Price/mix can preserve earnings for a period, but declining consumption makes the terminal-value assumption increasingly important; regulatory action, illicit-market share, or a failure to gain reduced-risk-product traction would cause both earnings revisions and a higher required yield. The non-obvious offset is that a weaker consumer can initially support MO relative to discretionary staples, but persistent inflation increases downtrading and accelerates volume pressure, limiting pricing elasticity.

Consensus is likely too uniform in grouping these as "safe income." O has the clearest path to a positive earnings-growth surprise if rates ease; VZ is a balance-sheet execution story; MO offers cash return but carries the largest structural multiple-compression risk. For a diversified income allocation, separate rate exposure from secular-decline exposure rather than owning all three at benchmark-like weights.

Key Decisions for Investors

• Prefer long O versus short NNN over a 3-6 month horizon if the 10-year Treasury sustains below its recent range: O’s scale and cost-of-capital advantage should translate more quickly into accretive acquisitions. Target 8-12% relative return; exit if long rates rise 35-50 bp or O’s acquisition cap-rate/financing spread compresses below roughly 150 bp.
• Maintain VZ only as a covered-income position, not a directional growth long; pair long VZ with short T for 3-6 months if quarterly postpaid churn remains contained and free cash flow is directed to deleveraging. Expect modest 5-8% relative upside plus carry; invalidate on worsening churn, higher promotional expense, or net-debt/EBITDA deterioration.
• Avoid adding to MO solely for yield. Use any yield-driven rally to reduce exposure or express a 6-12 month relative short versus defensive staples ETF XLP, unless reduced-risk-product volumes show sustained share gains and smokeable pricing continues to offset volume losses without margin erosion.
• Set a macro alert around the next CPI and Treasury refunding cycle: falling real yields support O disproportionately, while higher-for-longer rates create downside across all three but are most damaging to O’s external-growth model and VZ’s refinancing narrative.