Realty Income dividend: coverage, yield and outlook
Realty Income's declared annualized dividend is $3.258 per share, and operating cash covers the dividend in every year shown. AFFO also covers the dividend under the company's measure, but growth relies on outside funding.
How much does Realty Income pay per share?
The dividend starts from the declared annualized rate of $3.258. The base case raises it to $3.32, $3.40 and $3.49, consistent with recent low-single-digit growth and AFFO coverage. The bear case holds it flat at $3.258 because funding pressure could force a pause. The bull case reaches $3.36, $3.50 and $3.65 if per-share AFFO accelerates while coverage remains sound. Q2 payout was 74.5%, leaving room for gradual increases.
| October 2027 | October 2028 | October 2029 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) | 4,409 (4,243 / 4,534) | 4,674 (4,328 / 4,942) | 4,954 (4,414 / 5,387) |
| Shares (millions) | 971 (981 / 961) | 996 (1,016 / 976) | 1,021 (1,051 / 991) |
| Dividends per share | 3.32 (3.26 / 3.36) | 3.40 (3.26 / 3.50) | 3.49 (3.26 / 3.65) |
| Price to Adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) | 12.80 (12.50 / 13.50) | 12.80 (12.00 / 14.25) | 12.80 (11.50 / 15.00) |
Does Realty Income's dividend come from its cash?
Operating cash covered Realty Income’s dividend in every year shown, but it did not cover the company’s full growth program.
The dividend is covered under Realty Income’s AFFO measure, but that cushion is not simply spare cash.
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash from operations | 3,994,754 | 3,573,276 | 2,958,769 | 2,563,856 | 1,322,189 |
| − Dividends paid | 2,920,895 | 2,691,719 | 2,111,793 | 1,813,431 | 1,169,026 |
| = Operating cash after dividends | 1,073,859 | 881,557 | 846,976 | 750,425 | 153,163 |
| − Acquisitions | 4,647,873 | 3,262,437 | 8,053,595 | 8,886,436 | 6,313,076 |
| + Properties sold | 744,014 | 589,450 | 117,354 | 436,115 | 250,536 |
What this means. The acquisition total includes money used to develop properties, while the separate development line covers only improvements and leasing, so do not treat them as completely separate spending.
What could change Realty Income's dividend?
The forecast would move toward the bear case if debt refinancing becomes more expensive, acquisition yields fall below funding costs or public equity becomes the main source of investment capital. Those pressures would slow AFFO per share and compress the multiple during 2027–2029.
What is Realty Income's dividend yield today against its price?
| Today (Oct 18, 2026) | |
|---|---|
| Share price | 56.08 |
| Market value (calculated) | 53,063.907 |
| Price to AFFO (calculated) | 12.8x |
| Dividend yield (calculated) | 5.8% |
| Latest annualized regular dividend per share | 3.26 |
What this means. The market value may look like the whole company's value, but it leaves out operating partnership units held by others.