Highest Dividend Stocks
The highest dividend paying stocks on US exchanges, ranked by trailing twelve-month yield and updated daily. Find the stocks with the highest dividends, with payout ratio, payment frequency and market cap.
Top 10 Highest Dividend Stocks
- 1.OXLCOxford Lane Capital Corp.39.52%
- 2.ECCEagle Point Credit Company Inc.33.29%
- 3.SITCSITE Centers Corp.32.52%
- 4.OXSQOxford Square Capital Corp.28.77%
- 5.UWMCUWM Holdings Corporation27.99%
- 6.IEPIcahn Enterprises L.P.26.83%
- 7.LXLexinFintech Holdings Ltd.26.62%
- 8.SPMCSound Point Meridian Capital Inc26.02%
- 9.SSTKShutterstock, Inc.23.39%
- 10.PSECProspect Capital Corporation22.42%
About the Highest Dividend Stocks list
This list ranks the highest dividend yield stocks on US exchanges by trailing twelve-month yield — the total dividends paid over the last year divided by the current share price. It is the most direct answer to the question "which stocks pay the most income per dollar invested?", and it is also the list that most rewards a sceptical eye.
The stocks with the highest dividends are not a random cross-section of the market. They cluster in structures built to distribute income rather than retain it: closed-end credit funds, business development companies and mortgage REITs, which are required or strongly incentivised to pay out most of what they earn. Ordinary operating companies rarely appear near the top, and when one does it is worth asking why.
A high yield is a ratio, and ratios move for two very different reasons. A company can raise its dividend, which lifts the numerator and is genuinely good news. Or its share price can fall, which shrinks the denominator and lifts the yield for the worst possible reason. The second case is common enough to have a name — the yield trap — and it is why the payout ratio column matters as much as the yield column. A payout ratio above 100% means a company is distributing more than it earns, which it can do for a while by borrowing or drawing down cash, but not indefinitely.
We exclude companies that have stopped paying. That sounds obvious, but it is the single largest source of error in yield rankings elsewhere: a company that paid a large special dividend years ago and nothing since will still show a headline yield in many datasets. Any stock whose most recent regular dividend went ex more than fifteen months ago is treated as a non-payer here and shows a yield of zero rather than a stale figure.
Use this list as a starting point for research, not a shortlist to buy. Cross-reference the payout ratio, check how the yield compares to the company's own history, and look at whether the dividend has been growing or merely holding.
Methodology
Yield is the trailing twelve-month dividend per share divided by the latest close, sourced from Financial Modeling Prep's TTM ratios and verified against dividend payment history. Exchange-traded funds are ranked separately. Special and one-off distributions are excluded from the trailing figure, since they do not recur and would overstate forward income. Stocks whose most recent regular dividend went ex more than fifteen months ago are treated as non-payers. Mutual funds are excluded entirely: their distributions are largely realised capital gains rather than dividend income.
Frequently asked questions
- What stocks pay the highest dividends?
- The highest-yielding US-listed stocks are concentrated in closed-end credit funds, business development companies and mortgage REITs, which are structured to distribute most of their income and routinely yield 10-25%. Among ordinary operating companies, yields above about 8% are unusual and usually signal that the market expects a cut. The table above is ranked by trailing twelve-month yield and updated daily.
- What are the highest dividend yield stocks right now?
- The table above is the current ranking, refreshed daily. The highest dividend yield stocks on US exchanges are almost always closed-end credit funds, business development companies and mortgage REITs rather than ordinary operating companies — structures that must distribute the bulk of their earnings. Yields of 15-25% are normal in that group and do not carry the same meaning as a 15% yield on an industrial or consumer company, which would signal distress.
- Is a high dividend yield always good?
- No. Yield is the dividend divided by the share price, so it rises when the price falls. A stock at the top of any yield ranking is often there because the market has marked it down, not because the company has raised its payment. The payout ratio column is the fastest check: above 1.00 means the company is distributing more than it earns, which cannot continue indefinitely.
- How often are these figures updated?
- Prices and yields refresh daily, and each page shows the exact date its data was collected. Yields are computed from actual dividend payment history rather than a headline figure, and special or one-off distributions are excluded because they do not recur.
- Do you cover stocks outside the US?
- No. TopDivs covers securities listed on the NYSE, NASDAQ and AMEX only. Companies listed in Canada, Australia, India, the UK or elsewhere are not included, even where they trade in the US as depositary receipts.
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