Most income investors looking for yield stop at the obvious names: integrated oil majors, utility companies or bond funds. What they lack is a layer of energy infrastructure and a royalty partnership that pays annual distributions of 7% to 10%-plus, with a tax structure that makes after-tax returns more attractive.
Three major limited partnerships stand out: a midstream giant with data center ambitions, a royalty collector with zero drilling exposure, and a logistics giant with sequential 12.5% ​​distribution growth.
Will artificial intelligence create the world’s first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on a little-known company that has been described as an “essential monopoly” that provides critical technology that both Nvidia and Intel need. continue”
Key metrics for ranking these partnerships: current yield, distribution growth consistency, cash flow sustainability, balance sheet health and business model durability across commodity price cycles.
energy transfer(NYSE: ET) It is the largest of the three, with a market capitalization of $65 billion, and operates one of the most extensive midstream networks in North America. The current quarterly distribution is $0.335 per unit, which annualizes to $1.34, while the unit price is $18.75, implying a yield of nearly 7.2%. The distribution has increased each quarter for two years, from $0.3175 in the second quarter of 2024 to the current level.
Results for the fourth quarter of 2025 were mixed. Revenue was US$25.32 billion, exceeding expectations by 7.19% and growing 29.6% year-on-year, but earnings per share of US$0.25 was lower than expected by US$0.367, dragged down by non-cash impairments of US$277 million and interest expenses of US$910 million. The timing mismatch of NGL’s hedging is expected to reverse favorably in the first quarter of 2026. Full-year net profit increased by 18.57% to US$5.71 billion.
The coming-of-age story is fascinating. Energy Transfer has a natural gas supply agreement with Oracle for approximately 900 MMcf/d to serve three data centers and 2.3 Bcf/d for its Desert Southwest expansion project at an estimated price of $5.6 billion. Management raised its 2026 EBITDA guidance to $1.745 to $17.85 billion.
An EPS miss and a rising debt load keep it in third place, but its scale and pipeline are real.
Doplex(NYSE:MPLX) Trading at $58.52, with a quarterly distribution of $1.0765 per unit, annualized to about $4.31, the current yield is nearly 7.4%. Fourth quarter 2025 earnings per share were $1.17, 10.38% higher than the $1.06 estimate. The full-year net profit reached US$4.912 billion, a year-on-year increase of 13.78%, and operating cash flow was US$5.909 billion.
MPLX increased distributions by 12.5% ​​for the second consecutive year and will return more than $4 billion to unitholders through distributions and repurchases in 2025.
The 2026 capital plan allocates $2.7 billion to growth projects, 90% of which is for natural gas and LNG services. Major projects include the Blackcomb Pipeline and ONEOK’s Gulf Coast LPG export terminal.
Kimbell Royal Partners(NYSE: KRP) There’s a reason it won first place: The royalty model completely eliminates capital expenditure risk. Kimbell owns mineral and royalty interests. It does not drill wells, operate equipment or absorb cost overruns. It simply collects a percentage of production revenue from operators in its jurisdiction.
The current quarterly distribution is $0.37 per unit, payable on March 25, 2026. Full-year 2025 distributions total $1.60 per unit, giving a dividend yield of 10.7% based on current data. These distributions are a 100% return of capital, which means they are not subject to ordinary dividend income taxes in the year they are received.
Strong fourth quarter 2025 results. Revenue was $82.45 million, 19.38% above expectations, and earnings per share were $0.21, 43.74% above expectations of $0.1461. Full-year net profit surged 713.27% to US$99.65 million. Proven developed reserves are approximately 73 million barrels of oil equivalent, a record high and a year-on-year increase of 8%. The company has 85 active rigs, accounting for 16.1% of all U.S. land rigs.
The royalty model means Kimbell can benefit from higher oil and gas prices without incurring drilling costs. Natural gas makes up 46% to 50% of its production mix, with commodity risk diminishing in both directions as Henry Hub prices surged to $7.72 per MMBtu in January 2026 before stabilizing at $3.62 in February. But the royalty structure, tax-advantaged allocation and zero-capex model make Kimbell stand out among the three.
Image source: Getty Images
All three MLPs’ yields dwarfed the broader market. Energy delivery brings scale and a data center growth perspective. MPLX delivers the most consistent execution and clearest distribution growth trajectory. Kimbell posted the highest yield of the three, a royalty model with no capital expenditure risk and 100% capital return tax treatment – features not commonly seen in publicly traded energy partnerships. These rankings are based solely on specific metrics and do not constitute investment advice.
Before buying shares of Energy Transfer, consider the following factors:
this Motley Fool Stock Advisor The analytics team has just identified what they believe is 10 Best Stocks Investors can buy now… and Energy Transfer isn’t 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 $514,000!* or when NVIDIA This list was created on April 15, 2005… If you invested $1,000 when we recommended, You will have $1,105,029!*
Now, it’s worth noting stock advisor Total average return is 930% — outperformed the market compared to the S&P 500’s 187%. 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 »
*Stock Advisor returned on March 17, 2026.
Austin Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
3 Ultra-High-Yield Energy Stocks with Yields of 5% to 11% That Most Investors Ignore Originally published by The Motley Fool
