Over the past century, stocks have outperformed other asset classes like oil, gold, and bonds, providing superior annualized returns. Dividend-paying stocks, in particular, have shown remarkable performance, with a recent report highlighting their double returns over non-payers in the last 50 years. Two standout ultra-high-yield dividend stocks, Realty Income and Enterprise Products Partners, both with over 25 years of consecutive payout increases, are currently seen as excellent investment opportunities. Realty Income, a retail real estate investment trust, and Enterprise Products Partners, an energy sector player, offer high yields and stable returns, making them attractive for income-focused investors.
Realty Income ensures its resilience to economic downturns and e-commerce pressures through several strategies:
Diversified Portfolio: Realty Income has a strong and highly diversified portfolio consisting of over 15,450 properties across all 50 U.S. states and seven European countries. This diversification helps mitigate risk and ensures a stable income stream, as the company's tenants come from a wide range of industries5.
Focus on Defensive Segments: Most of Realty Income's tenants are focused on defensive segments, with characteristics such as being service-oriented, naturally protected against e-commerce pressures, or resistant to economic downturns3. This ensures a stable revenue stream even during challenging economic times.
Triple-Net Lease Structure: Realty Income uses a triple-net lease structure, which places the burden of all operational risk and cost on the tenant and requires the tenant to make capital expenditures to maintain the property rather than the landlord. These leases are often long-term, frequently 15 years with additional extension options, which provides Realty Income a steady stream of rental income.
High-Quality Tenants: Realty Income partners with many of the world's leading companies, ensuring a high-quality tenant base5. These tenants often have strong credit profiles and are more likely to meet their lease obligations, providing a stable foundation for the company's income.
Proven Business Model: Realty Income's success is built on a proven business model that focuses on acquiring high-quality, freestanding commercial properties leased to strong tenants. The company's long-term net leases typically include rent escalation clauses, providing a hedge against inflation and ensuring growth in rental income over time.
Experienced Management Team: Realty Income is led by an experienced management team with a deep understanding of the commercial real estate market. This expertise has allowed the company to navigate various economic cycles and consistently deliver value to its shareholders.
Enterprise Products Partners, as a midstream operator in the fossil fuel industry, plays a crucial role as an energy middleman. It operates more than 50,000 miles of transmission pipeline, 26 fractionation facilities, and can store 14 billion cubic feet of natural gas and over 300 million barrels of petroleum/refined liquids4. This position allows Enterprise to secure long-term, fixed-fee contracts with drilling companies, which provides stable and predictable cash flow.
Being a midstream operator rather than a driller offers several advantages. First, it enables Enterprise to avoid the risks and volatility associated with oil and gas exploration and production. This stability is further enhanced by the company's focus on fixed-fee contracts, which removes spot price volatility from the equation. Second, the predictability of cash flow allows the company to plan and forecast for the future with greater accuracy, giving management the confidence to raise distributions, undertake new projects, and make earnings-accretive acquisitions.
In summary, Enterprise Products Partners' position as a midstream operator in the fossil fuel industry provides the company with stability, predictability, and opportunities for growth, making it an attractive option for income-focused investors.