The Smartest Dividend Stocks to Buy With $1,000 Right Now

There are few things in the stock market that you can really count on. While we can be relatively confident that, over the long term, the S&P 500 will grow and help generate wealth, there will always be downturns that dampen your returns.

If you really want a sure thing and have $1,000 to invest, turn to income-generating dividend stocks. Here are three surefire ways that you'll get that juicy yield, regardless of what happens in the stock market.

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Realty Income

Realty Income (NYSE: O) is a real estate investment trust that prides itself on a consistently growing monthly dividend. The company has issued a dividend for 670 consecutive months -- that's more than 55 years -- and has increased its payout 134 times since joining the New York Stock Exchange in 1994.

Because it's a REIT, Realty Income is required to distribute 90% of its taxable income as dividends, which is why it has an attractive yield of 5% right now. The company owns 15,500 commercial properties and leases them to companies operating across more than 90 industries. That comes with plenty of diversification, as no single industry accounts for more than 11% of the company's portfolio. Grocery stores lead the way, followed by convenience stores (9.6%) and home improvement businesses (6.4%).

Realty Income stock is up 10% in the last year, but when you include the strong dividend payout, the total return is better than 16%.

ExxonMobil

ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) has been a market-beating stock so far this year, up 23% even after a recent downturn. While energy stocks will surely get a lot of attention as long as Middle East tensions and the Iran war continue, investors shouldn't discount ExxonMobil as an income stock for the long term.

ExxonMobil currently pays a dividend yield of 2.7%, which is well above the S&P 500's average yield of 1.1%. With 43 consecutive years of dividend increases, investors can have a lot of confidence that the quarterly income will continue to flow. ExxonMobil recorded $52 billion in cash flow from operations in 2025, and earnings of $28.8 billion.

ExxonMobil stock is up 38% in the last year -- or 45%, if you include the dividends.

JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF

My favorite source of income is the JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF (NASDAQ: JEPQ), an actively managed fund that invests in Nasdaq-100 stocks through a covered call strategy. JEPQ sells out-of-the-money call options and pays the proceeds to shareholders in a monthly dividend.

That means you're investing in some of the biggest names in the market, including Nvidia, Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta Platforms, but not necessarily for the stock performance -- which can be good or bad, depending on your perspective. But the bottom line is that JEPQ generates income even in flat or down markets.

JEPQ has a mammoth yield of 11% right now. It's up 18% in the last year, but its total return is an impressive 32% thanks to the monthly dividend payout.

Patrick Sanders has positions in JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Realty Income. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.