3 Dividend Stocks Built for Long-Term Buy-and-Hold Investors

I love technology stocks -- even before the artificial intelligence boom, I was a big fan of Alphabet, Microsoft, Nvidia, and the rest of the tech world. But what I don't love about them is their stingy (or nonexistent) dividend payouts.

I get it. Most tech companies are investing heavily in developing new products, scaling up their businesses, or building infrastructure such as chips and computing capacity. But if you're seeking a regular source of passive income along with your investments, it's hard to get excited about Alphabet's 0.25% yield, or Microsoft's 0.95%, or Nvidia's 0.5%.

Fortunately, there are a lot of other stocks that you can turn to for a reliable payout. And they can be found in all sorts of sectors, which provides a great way to diversify if you feel your portfolio is getting a little too heavy with tech stocks.

Let's look at three examples with yields greater than 2%, each representing a different part of the market: Realty Income (NYSE: O), Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO), and AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV).

Image source: Getty Images.

1. Realty Income: The real estate pick

Realty Income is a real estate investment trust, meaning it holds a broad portfolio of commercial real estate. REITs were created by Congress to allow investors to earn income from commercial real estate -- and Realty Income, in my opinion, is the best of the bunch.

Realty Income has about 15,500 properties across 92 industries, located in all 50 U.S. states as well as nine countries in Europe. Its holdings are most heavily concentrated in grocery stores, at 11%, but Realty Income also has convenience stores, restaurants, dollar stores, home improvement locations, and automotive garages.

That means Realty Income is as diversified a real estate company as you can find. Its top client is Dollar General, which accounts for only 3.3% of Realty Income's annualized contracted rent. So if any one client were to suddenly go out of business, the REIT wouldn't suffer.

Revenue in the first quarter was $1.54 billion, up from $1.38 billion a year ago, and net income per share rose from $0.28 to $0.33. Realty Income has paid a monthly dividend for 673 consecutive months, or more than 56 years, and its current yield is 5.1%.

2. Coca-Cola: The consumer goods pick

Coca-Cola is the leading seller of carbonated soft drinks in the U.S., but it also sells an impressive array of coffee, juices, sports drinks, water, and teas. The company managed to increase its market share in all of its markets in the first quarter, thanks in part to global campaigns that linked the brand to culturally meaningful occasions:

• an AI-enabled campaign in China that allowed consumers to create portraits around Coca-Cola packaging for the Chinese New Year
• a digital campaign in Türkiye that encouraged consumers to share recipes
• a campaign centered around its Fanta brand to celebrate Ramadan in Indonesia
• a campaign in Brazil centered around Sprite to promote Carnival and summer festivals

Data source: Coca-Cola press release.

The company has raised its dividend for 65 consecutive years and is still going strong. The current yield for Coca-Cola stock is 2.5%.

3. AbbVie: The pharmaceutical pick

AbbVie is perhaps best known for its drug Humira, a treatment for inflammatory diseases which generated billions of dollars in revenue for the company and its shareholders. But regulatory exclusivity doesn't last forever, and Humira lost its exclusive status in 2023, opening the door to more competition.

Fortunately for shareholders, AbbVie had a deep bench of drugs to turn to, and those drugs more than made up for Humira, especially Skyrizi and Rinvoq. Skyrizi, a treatment for psoriasis and Crohn's disease, generated $4.48 billion in revenue in the first quarter, up 30.9% from a year ago. Rinvoq, which treats dermatitis, arthritis, and other ailments, brought in $2.12 billion in the quarter, up 23.3%. And the company is still getting money from Humira, which generated $688 million in sales, although that was down 38.6%.

Overall, AbbVie's first-quarter revenue totaled $15 billion, up 12.4% from a year ago. AbbVie stock has a current dividend yield of 2.8%.

Patrick Sanders has positions in Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends AbbVie, Alphabet, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Realty Income. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.