Should You Buy the 3 Highest-Paying Dividend Stocks in the Nasdaq?

Key Points

• PepsiCo, Comcast, and Kraft Heinz are the three highest-yielding stocks on the Nasdaq-100.

• They have fallen 19% to 24% over the past year, and are yielding 4.1% to 6.1% right now.

• With strong assets and compelling valuations, they are potent turnaround candidates.

• 10 stocks we like better than PepsiCo ›

Shares of PepsiCo (NASDAQ: PEP), Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA), and Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ: KHC) are currently yielding north of 4%. These are high payouts in any climate, but perhaps even more noteworthy with the Fed starting to nudge rates lower last week. These three companies also happen to be the highest-yielding investments in the Nasdaq-100, a collection of the 100 largest non-financial stocks trading on the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC).

Tech stocks make up most of the weighting of the Nasdaq-100, but none of these three well-known consumer brands would fall into that basket. It's also probably not much of a surprise -- even in a market hitting fresh highs -- that all three of these stocks are trading closer to their 52-week lows. Chunky distributions can often be found in the shadows of market laggards. Is this an opportunity or a value trap? Let's take a closer look at all three stocks.

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Learn More »

1. PepsiCo

The pop star has been worse than flat lately. PepsiCo shares have fallen nearly 20% over the past year, in what has been a challenging year for most beverage stocks. The good news is that PepsiCo is faring better than the bearish narrative that most associate with soft drinks.

Consumption of sugary carbonated beverages continues to slide, but PepsiCo's business is finding ways to grow. Revenue has moved higher for eight consecutive years. Revenue has inched lower in three of the last four quarters, but analysts see a fizzy second half pushing the top line higher for the ninth year in a row.

Image source: Getty Images.

PepsiCo has been able to grow in a sluggish market by broadening its offerings. It acquired SodaStream in 2018, giving it a different way to play the do-it-yourself trend for sparkling beverages. This summer it boosted its stake in an energy drink company that has seen its shares almost double in 2025. It was already a leader across different beverage categories, as well as everything from salty snacks to oatmeal.

The good news for potential investors is that the yield is rising as the stock has fallen over the past year. PepsiCo also boosted its quarterly dividend by 5% earlier this year, extending its reign as a Dividend King for 53 consecutive years of hikes. It's good for the money with forward payout ratio of 65%. PepsiCo is trading for less than 17 times next year's profit target. It's not the lowest multiple on this list, but it's a bargain relative to many of this year's high-flying stocks.

2. Comcast

If you're looking for high yields and low P/E ratios, you may want to grab a remote control. Comcast offers a 4.2% dividend, and it's trading for just 7 times this year's earnings. There are some caveats here. As a highly leveraged company, the multiple almost doubles if you go by its $209 billion enterprise value instead of its $117 market cap. You also have its two cash cow businesses in a stage of decline.

Comcast has seen cord-cutting gnaw away at its cable TV empire for years. Now even its once-steady broadband connectivity business is proving mortal. This is a big deal, as these two segments generated 64% of Comcast's revenue and 83% of its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) in 2024.

The prospects are better for Comcast as a content creator. NBC Universal makes it a force among media networks, streaming services, and theme parks. This also is a company doing a lot to return money to its shareholders. It's not just the yield trading at a historical high. Comcast spent $8.6 billion on stock buybacks last year. With bidding wars this summer for media companies, content is king, if not checkmate. I like Comcast's chances to bounce back after a 22% slide over the past year.

3. Kraft Heinz

With a yield topping 6%, Kraft Heinz is the most generous of the Nasdaq-100 companies. It may not stay that way for long, and this isn't a commentary on the iffy sustainability of the payout itself. Kraft Heinz announced this month that it plans to split its business in two. The company that stocks your local grocer with brands beyond its two namesakes including Jell-O gelatin, Oscar Mayer hot dogs, and Ore-Ida fries will break up into one public company with its refrigerated products and the other for its shelf-stable items.

It's worth noting that Warren Buffett was the force in getting the two companies together in the first place. Berkshire Hathaway owns a 27.5% stake in the company. Buffett is not happy with the breakup, and it's easy to side with arguably the greatest investor of our time. If the two companies have struggled together, how will they thrive without the scalability advantages they have now?

Analysts see Kraft Heinz rebounding next year, earning more than enough to cover its quarterly distributions. It remains to be seen how the dividends stand once the company splits in two, but there is an opportunity here. The shares are down 24% over the past year for a company -- if not two companies -- with great brands in an otherwise buoyant market.

Should you invest $1,000 in PepsiCo right now?

Before you buy stock in PepsiCo, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and PepsiCo wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $661,694!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,082,963!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,067% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 190% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of September 22, 2025

Rick Munarriz has positions in Comcast. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool recommends Comcast and Kraft Heinz. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.