These Outperforming Giants Are Boosting Dividends in 2026, With Yields of Up to 6.6%

Key Points

• Welltower and Bank of America both raised their dividends by double digits, at 14.9% and 14.3% respectively, accelerating from their 2025 increases.
• Energy Transfer issued a smaller 0.74% dividend increase but offers a notable 6.6% yield, supported by strong cash flow despite a high payout ratio.
• All three companies outperformed the S&P 500's nearly 13% return in 2026, with Welltower, Bank of America, and Energy Transfer posting solid gains.

Several massive names across key industries, including real estate, banking, and energy, are adding more juice to their dividends. Notably, these names are also performing well in 2026, beating the S&P 500’s return of nearly 13%. Two issued double-digit increases, substantially boosting the income they provide shareholders, while another delivered a smaller increase, but has a big-time yield worth taking notice of.

Welltower: Soaring Senior Housing Giant Issues Big-Time Dividend Boost

Welltower NYSE: WELL is one of the world’s largest real estate investment trusts (REITs) in the senior housing industry. As the demographics of the United States indicate the country is aging, the facilities that Welltower invests in and operates have seen strong demand. This has led to impressive returns of nearly 50% in 2025, and over 20% in 2026.

The firm’s success is also clearly trickling down into how it returns capital to shareholders. Welltower recently announced a very large 14.9% dividend increase, substantially higher than its sizable 10.5% increase in 2025. The company plans to pay its next dividend on Aug. 20 to shareholders of record as of the Aug. 12 close.

Now, the stock’s forward dividend yield sits at a solid 1.4%, with an expected annual payout of $3.40. However, it may concern investors to see that Welltower’s payout ratio sits at 135.7%, indicating that its dividend substantially exceeds its earnings. This concern is greatly minimized by adjusting for REIT-specific dividend metrics. As opposed to EPS, normalized funds from operations attributable to common stockholders are a better metric to measure dividend sustainability. At $1.60 per share, the company’s payout ratio would fall to 53%, well within sustainable territory.

Bank of America: Strong Multi-Segment Growth With 2% Yield

Bank of America NYSE: BAC is not only one of the largest names in the banking industry, but also in the entire U.S. economy. With a market capitalization near $450 billion, it is one of the top 25 most valuable stocks in the country. Bank of America has delivered solid performance to investors so far in 2026, with a total return near 15%. Notably, the firm posted double-digit growth across its sales and trading segment, investment banking segment, and asset management segment last quarter, with earnings per share (EPS) rising 25%.

The company is also giving more to dividend-focused investors, recently upping its payout by 14.3%. This marks a significant acceleration in dividend growth compared to the 7.7% increase it issued in 2025. The firm’s dividend yield now sits at 2%, providing a meaningful source of investor returns. The company plans to pay its next 32-cent quarterly dividend on Sept. 25 to shareholders of record as of the Sept. 4 close.

Furthermore, Bank of America’s payout ratio is very strong at just 29%. Analysts also expect this metric to improve meaningfully over the rest of 2026, based on current year estimates.

This should enable the company to continue growing its dividend substantially going forward.

Energy Transfer: High-Yield Energy Giant Sees Profits Boom in Q2

Energy Transfer NYSE: ET is a top name in the midstream energy industry with a market capitalization near $70 billion. It primarily moves energy products from production sites to downstream supply chain facilities. Energy Transfer has a particularly strong presence in natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGL) transportation, which includes products like ethane, butane, and propane.

The stock has performed well in 2026, delivering a total return of over 20%. This comes as the firm posted record NGL transportation volumes in its latest quarter, as well as increased margins. This helped Energy Transfer’s adjusted EBITDA rise by an impressive 31% year over year. The firm also upped the midpoint of its full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance by $500 million to $18.95 billion.

Energy Transfer also recently issued a small 0.74% increase to its dividend. Its high yield of 6.6% is notable, providing investors with a sizable source of income. The record date for its next dividend is Aug. 7, and the payout date is Aug. 19.

At first glance, Energy Transfer’s payout ratio of 112.5% looks problematic. But as a very capital-intensive company, it also has unusually large non-cash expenses, such as depreciation. This makes cash flow a much better metric for assessing Energy Transfer’s dividend sustainability. Using cash flow, the company’s payout ratio is just 47%, leaving its dividend well-supported.

Analysts Point to Solid Gains Ahead for Energy Transfer

Looking ahead, analysts are displaying a significant degree of confidence in Energy Transfer. Even after the stock’s strong run, the MarketBeat consensus price target of $23.50 implies around 16% upside. Additionally, ratings are heavily weighted to the buy side, with the stock having 14 Buy, one Hold, and zero Sell ratings.

One factor worth watching is the company’s ability to ramp up newer assets, such as Hugh Brison, on schedule to support future growth. Currently, the firm expects Phase 1 of Hugh Brison to reach full capacity by Sept. 1 and Phase 2 to begin service in Q1 2027.

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