Does Realty Income Corporation (O) Pay a Dividend? (2026)

Yes. Realty Income Corporation pays a dividend yielding roughly 5.09% as of August 2026, paid monthly, twelve times a year. The most recent payment on record was $0.27 per share with an ex-dividend date of July 31, 2026. That works out to a forward annual rate of about $3.25 per share. Yields move with the share price, so verify the current figure with your broker or O's investor relations page before relying on it.

About 5.09% as of August 2026. On a $10,000 position that is roughly $509 of dividend income a year before tax. For context, the S&P 500 yields around 1.2%, so O yields meaningfully more than the broad market. A higher yield is not automatically better: it can reflect a falling share price as easily as a generous payout, so it is worth checking why the number is what it is.

Realty Income Corporation pays monthly, twelve times a year. The most recent payment on record had an ex-dividend date of July 31, 2026. To receive a given payment you have to own the shares before the ex-dividend date, not on the pay date. Confirm upcoming dates on O's investor relations page, because boards can change both the amount and the timing.

The ex-dividend date recorded in our August 2026 data pull is July 31, 2026. The ex-dividend date is the cutoff: buy on or after it and the seller keeps that payment, not you. Buying just before the ex-date to capture the dividend does not create free money, because the share price typically drops by roughly the dividend amount when the stock goes ex. Check O's investor relations page for the next confirmed date.

$0.27 per share in the most recent payment (ex-date July 31, 2026), which annualizes to about $3.25 per share. The equivalent payment a year earlier was $0.27. That is a change of 0.7% year over year.

Yes. The latest payment of $0.27 per share is above the $0.27 paid in the same slot a year earlier, an increase of about 0.7%. One raise is not a policy, though: check the multi-year record on O's investor relations page, since a long streak of increases is what dividend-growth investors actually look for.

Realty Income Corporation paid out about 265% of reported net income as dividends, which means the dividend was larger than accounting earnings over the period. That sounds alarming and sometimes is, but it is normal and expected for REITs, BDCs, and companies carrying large non-cash charges such as amortization, because those businesses are judged on cash measures (FFO, AFFO, or distributable net investment income) rather than GAAP net income. The useful check for O is whether the cash-flow measure covers the payout, not the earnings-based ratio. Nobody can guarantee a dividend: boards cut them, and a high yield is sometimes the market pricing in exactly that. Walnut is not an investment adviser and this is not a recommendation.

At a yield of about 5.09%, roughly $509 a year before tax, spread across 12 payments. That is a snapshot, not a promise: the amount changes when the company changes its payout, and your yield on cost is fixed at the price you paid, not at today's price.

Dividends from US common stock are usually qualified, meaning they are taxed at the lower long-term capital-gains rates, provided you held the shares for more than 60 days in the 121-day window around the ex-dividend date. Distributions from REITs, BDCs, and some pass-through structures are generally taxed as ordinary income instead. In an IRA or Roth the question does not arise. See our guide to how dividends are taxed. This is not tax advice.

Most brokers offer automatic reinvestment (a DRIP) that puts each O payment straight back into more shares, often fractional ones. Reinvesting compounds the position and is the standard choice when you do not need the cash yet. Taking the cash makes sense when you are spending the income or want to direct it elsewhere. Either way the dividend is taxable in a taxable account in the year it is paid, even if you never see the money.

Yes. Realty Income pays a monthly dividend, which is unusual for a public company and is central to its identity as 'The Monthly Dividend Company.' As of June 2026, the monthly dividend is $0.2710 per share, an annualized rate of approximately $3.252, yielding roughly 5.2% at the prevailing share price. The company has declared 672 consecutive monthly dividends and has raised its dividend 135 times since its 1994 NYSE listing.

Realty Income is widely held by income-oriented and retirement-focused investors because of its monthly payment schedule, 30-plus year dividend growth streak, and relatively stable cash flows from necessity-based tenants. The ~5.2% yield and consistent AFFO coverage provide a meaningful income stream. However, no stock is appropriate for all retirement portfolios; interest rate sensitivity means share price can fluctuate materially, and concentration in a single REIT adds sector-specific risk.