Quick Learning
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Verizon’s 6% yield and 19% year-to-date dividend make it a high-yielding pick, while Home Depot has paid 156 consecutive dividends.
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Duke Energy beat Q1 EPS estimates for the fourth straight quarter and is supporting a $103 billion capital plan targeting steady earnings growth through 2030.
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Mid-June is when cash-focused investors typically do quiet portfolio research: are dividend checks still coming, are yields still competitive and does each name hold up if the market falters until the end of the year? The three biggest names of the NYSE – Verizon (NYSE:VZ), The Home Depot (NYSE:HD) again Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) – keep appearing on that short list, and the latest data tells you why. Each pairs a decade-long payout record with a defensive business model, which is exactly what retirees rely on when cash flow is more important than capital gains.
The Motley Fool’s May 2026 entry tagged all three as top picks for retirement income, citing a nearly 6% yield at Verizon and double-percent payout growth at Home Depot and Duke Energy over the past decade. Validated data supports the framework.
Verizon (NYSE: VZ )
Verizon is the most productive name in this group and the one with the clearest turnaround story attached. The dividend payout ratio sits at around 6%, supported by the most recently announced dividend of $0.7075 per share, payable on May 1, 2026. Shares are trading at around $46.71, up 19% year to date, compared to an analyst target price of $51.90.
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The bull’s case is straightforward. Q1 2026 adjusted EPS came in at $1.28, up 8% year over year, on revenue of $34.44 billion. Management raised full-year guidance to adjusted EPS of $4.95 to $4.99, implying growth of 5% to 6%, along with free cash flow of $21.5 billion or more. The acquisition of Frontier closed pushed fiber broadband connections to nearly 10.8 million, up 42% year-over-year, and Verizon posted its first Q1 postpaid net since 2013. CEO Dan Schulman put it bluntly: “Our transformation isn’t just ongoing, it’s accelerating.”
Risks: Total debt rose to $172.5 billion after Frontier, with interest costs up 19% year over year. Higher rates can extend the amortization timeline and compress the payment cushion.
Home Depot (NYSE: HD)
Home Depot is the dividend reliability anchor of the trio. The company has now paid 156 consecutive cash dividends, with the most recent quarterly payment of $2.33 per share, scheduled to hit the accounts on June 18, 2026. The annual rate of $9.32 versus $2.76 a decade earlier in 2016, supports the claim of long-term payout growth. The current yield sits at around 2%, with shares at $336.59 and a trailing P/E of 24.
