High dividend payers can support and grow their payouts over the years.
VICI Properties is a leading real estate investment trust with an extensive portfolio of experience-oriented properties.
Bristol-Myers Squibb is a top pharmaceutical company with a large portfolio of profitable drugs.
10 stocks we like better than Vici Properties ›
Adding dividend stocks to your portfolio can provide a steady stream of income and help buffer portfolio losses during market downturns. However, it’s important to carefully research any dividend stock you want to buy to make sure the dividend is sustainable and that the underlying business is consistent with your portfolio growth goals, as well as your risk appetite.
Look for companies with a track record of consistently paying dividends, preferably with a history of increasing their dividends over time, as this can indicate a stable, well-managed business. Be careful not to get too focused on the dividend yield, which shows annual dividends as a percentage of the current share price.
While an attractive yield is nice, a dividend yield that’s too high doesn’t tell you much about the quality of the company. In fact, yields being pushed too high could indicate falling stock prices or even potential financial distress.
So, here are two dividend stocks worth considering buying right now.
Image source: Getty Images.
Weixi Real Estate (NYSE:VICI) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in owning, acquiring and developing experiential real estate. It is one of the largest landowners on the Las Vegas Strip, with 93 properties including iconic destinations such as Caesars Palace, the MGM Grand and the Venetian Resort. These include 54 gaming properties and 39 other experience-focused properties. VICI was established in 2017 from Caesars EntertainmentSeparating its valuable casino real estate from its operations while it files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
As a REIT, VICI can own casino properties, lease them out, and generate rental income for shareholders. VICI held its initial public offering in early 2018, one of the largest REIT IPOs at the time. VICI is required to pay out the majority of its taxable income to shareholders in the form of dividends, so it remains a reliable dividend payer, having increased its annual dividend for seven consecutive years since its IPO. Its current annual dividend is about $1.80 per share, giving it a high dividend yield of about 6.3%.
VICI uses a triple-net (NNN) leasing model that separates property ownership from day-to-day operations. Under a triple-net agreement, the tenant is responsible for all property-related expenses, including taxes, insurance and maintenance. The company’s occupancy rate remains 100%. Most of VICI’s long-term leases include rent escalators linked to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), a strategy that helps protect its rental income from inflation. All lease agreements include fixed or variable annual base rent increases.
Some leases feature flat annual growth, while others include a floor (e.g., 2% annual growth) and a CPI size above that level, often with a cap. VICI has an impressive operating weighted average lease term of over 40 years. While its core portfolio is gaming and casinos, the REIT has increasingly diversified into other experience areas. These include golf courses, water parks, wellness centers and luxury mixed-use developments.
In the third quarter of 2025, VICI reported total revenue of approximately $1.01 billion, a year-over-year increase of 4.4%. Meanwhile, adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) per share rose 5.3% to $0.60. In the third quarter of 2025, VICI reported cash and cash equivalents of approximately $508 million, while its free cash flow was approximately $586 million. If you want to invest in the defensive real estate sector while earning strong dividends, VICI Properties looks well worth buying and holding.
Bristol-Myers Squibb(NYSE: BMY) Has a broad pharmaceutical portfolio centered on oncology, cardiovascular issues and immunology. Its annual dividend is currently $2.52 per share, giving it a high dividend yield of 4.6% at the time of publication. The company has been paying dividends for nearly a century, but its track record of annual dividend increases now stretches to 18 years and counting.
One of the company’s best-known drugs is Eliquis, a blood thinner it co-developed with the company. Pfizer. The drug is the company’s largest revenue generator but faces a patent cliff starting around 2026. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s other key drug is Opdivo, a basic cancer immunotherapy used in multiple tumor types that helps the immune system detect and fight cancer cells. The drug also faces patent expiration around 2028.
Patent expirations are a normal part of pharmaceutical companies’ business cycles, and pharmaceutical companies plan years in advance for these critical periods. Bristol-Myers Squibb is rapidly expanding its portfolio of new drugs to fill a revenue gap from expected patent losses. One such product is Reblozyl, a drug that treats anemia in patients with thalassemia and other blood disorders and currently has annual sales expected to exceed $2 billion.
There’s also Breyanzi, a cell therapy for large B-cell lymphoma and other indications that saw sales jump 60% year over year in its most recent quarter. Sales of Camzyos, a cardiovascular drug for the treatment of symptomatic obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, increased 89% year over year in the third quarter. Other key growth drivers include Cobenfy (an oral drug to treat schizophrenia), Sotyktu (a treatment for psoriasis), Opdualag (a treatment for melanoma) and Abecma (a treatment for multiple myeloma).
The company reported strong results for the third quarter of 2025, with revenue of $12.2 billion, up 3% from a year ago. Net profit for the quarter totaled $2.2 billion, up 81% from a year ago. If you’re looking for a solid healthcare stock to invest in for the long term, Bristol-Myers Squibb is an interesting name to consider.
Before buying shares of Vici Properties, consider the following factors:
this Motley Fool Stock Advisor The analytics team has just identified what they believe is 10 Best Stocks For investors to buy now…and Vici Properties is not one of them. The 10 stocks selected could generate huge returns in the coming years.
consider when Netflix This list was created on December 17, 2004… If you invested $1,000 when we recommended, You will have $505,749!* or when NVIDIA This list was created on April 15, 2005… If you invested $1,000 when we recommended, You will have $1,149,658!*
Now, it’s worth noting stock advisor Total average return is 979% — Outperformed the market compared to the S&P 500’s 195%. Don’t miss the latest top 10 list, available via stock advisorand join an investment community built by individual investors for individual investors.
See 10 stocks »
*As of December 29, 2025 Stock Advisor Returns
Rachel Warren has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns and recommends Bristol-Myers Squibb and Pfizer. The Motley Fool recommends Vici Properties. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Two Dividend Stocks That Have No Hesitation Right Now Originally posted by The Motley Fool
