How often does Realty Income (O) pay dividends?

Realty Income pays dividends monthly — 12 to 13 payments a year, near the middle of each month. Monthly payment is central to its identity: it trademarked the nickname 'The Monthly Dividend Company.'

How long has Realty Income increased its dividend?

Realty Income has raised its dividend every year for more than 30 consecutive years since listing on the NYSE in 1994, including well over 100 consecutive quarterly increases, making it a member of the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats. Increases are small — often fractions of a cent per month — but relentless.

What is Realty Income's dividend yield?

Realty Income's yield has typically ranged between about 4% and 6% depending on the share price — recently around 5.5%. Because the dividend itself is steady, the yield mostly moves when the share price moves, often in response to interest rates.

How are Realty Income's dividends taxed?

As a REIT, most of Realty Income's dividends are non-qualified — taxed at your ordinary income rate rather than the lower qualified-dividend rates, though a portion often counts as return of capital and part may qualify for the 20% QBI deduction. Many investors hold REITs like O inside an IRA or 401(k), where the distinction stops mattering.

Realty Income (O) Dividend History

Q: Is Realty Income's dividend safe?

Realty Income owns more than 15,000 properties leased to defensive tenants like convenience and drug stores, and its rent comfortably covers the current dividend. Thirty-plus years of raises through multiple recessions is strong evidence of priority. But no dividend is guaranteed — rising rates, tenant bankruptcies, or overpriced acquisitions could pressure it. Check the payout versus the company's cash flow (AFFO), not just the streak.

← All dividend history charts

O Dividend — Quick Facts

Pays: monthly — Realty Income literally trademarked the nickname "The Monthly Dividend Company."
Paying since: 1994 in this data set (it paid privately even before listing on the NYSE).
Track record: the company has raised its dividend for 30+ consecutive years, with well over 100 quarterly increases in a row — it's a member of the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats.
Long-run growth: roughly 4% a year — modest but relentless.
Recent yield: roughly 5–6% (it moves with the share price).
What it is: a REIT — a landlord that owns 15,000+ commercial properties and passes rent to shareholders. (That has a tax consequence — see below.)

Increase streak as reported by the company; the third-party data feed below may show small gaps in a couple of years. Past results don't guarantee future payments.

Every Dividend Payment, Over Time

Realty Income pays monthly — each point below is one of well over 350 payments since 1994. The long, gentle staircase is the whole investment thesis in one picture. The table further down totals each year.

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How to Read This — a Rising Line Isn't a Guarantee

Thirty years of raises is a genuinely elite record — but it describes the past. Realty Income's dividend depends on rent from its tenants (convenience stores, drug stores, dollar stores, groceries), and its ability to keep raising depends on buying more property profitably. Rising interest rates make that harder, which is why the share price — and the yield — swing more than the dividend itself.

One more thing the chart can't show: REIT dividends are taxed as ordinary income, not at the lower qualified-dividend rates most stock dividends get. In a taxable account that bite is real; in an IRA or 401(k) it disappears. Our guide to dividend investing in retirement accounts covers why REITs and IRAs pair so well.

Year-by-Year Table

Year	Total Dividends / Share	Payments	Change vs Prior Year

Data source: Yahoo Finance. Figures are per share; the current year may be partial and figures should be verified against official sources.

Three Decades of Monthly Checks

Realty Income — ticker O — is the closest thing the stock market has to a landlord who mails you a rent check every month. It owns more than 15,000 commercial properties (think convenience stores, drug stores, dollar stores), collects rent, and passes it along as a monthly dividend — a routine it has kept up, and raised, for more than 30 consecutive years. The chart above plots every payment in the data since 1994; the staircase shape is the pitch.

The growth is deliberately unglamorous: about 4% a year, applied in tiny increments — often several small raises per year. Compounded over three decades, the yearly payout more than tripled. Combined with a yield typically around 5%, that's the profile income investors call a "sleep-well" holding — though, as we'll see, not a risk-free one.

How Often Does O Pay Dividends?

Every month, around mid-month — and occasionally 13 times in a calendar year when the schedule shifts. For anyone matching investment income to monthly bills, that cadence is the entire reason O is so beloved; it's also why it appears in nearly every "monthly dividend stock" search.

How Fast Does the Dividend Grow?

Roughly 4% a year on average over the long run — slower than SCHD's ~11%, but starting from a much higher yield. That's the classic income trade-off: O pays you more today, SCHD grows your income faster for tomorrow. Which one wins depends on your timeline — the estimator above lets you test exactly that with your own numbers.

Is Realty Income's Dividend Safe?

The record — raises through the dot-com bust, the 2008 crisis, and the 2020 shutdowns — says the company treats the dividend as sacred. The risks are real but visible: as a REIT, O borrows to buy buildings, so rising interest rates raise its costs and compress its share price (the 2022–2024 stretch showed exactly that); tenants can struggle; and growth requires constantly buying more property at sensible prices. Watch the dividend against the company's cash flow (called AFFO), not just the streak. Our guide to choosing dividend stocks covers those checks in plain English.

The Tax Catch Every O Investor Should Know

REIT dividends are mostly non-qualified — taxed at your ordinary income rate, not the gentler 0/15/20% qualified rates that funds like VOO or SCHD enjoy. A 5.5% yield can feel more like 4% after a high earner's taxes. The clean fix: hold O inside an IRA or 401(k), where dividends compound untaxed — see Dividend Investing in a 401(k) or IRA.

Model a Monthly-Income Snowball

Plug O's ~5.5% yield and ~4% growth into the full calculator — DRIP, taxes, and the year-by-year chart included.

Use the Free Dividend Calculator

Educational content only — not financial advice. Payout history is provided by a third-party data source and may contain errors, omissions, or delays; verify against official sources before relying on it. Past distributions do not guarantee future payments. This is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security.