Investing in dividend stocks is a great way to steadily build your wealth. These companies can provide you with a solid base return that tends to grow over time as they increase their earnings and dividend payments. That combination of dividend income and earnings growth has historically added up to a much higher total return over the long term compared to non-dividend payers.

ConocoPhillips (COP -1.12%) and VICI Properties (VICI -0.15%) are two rock-solid dividend stocks worth adding more of right now or adding to your portfolio if you don’t already hold them. Here’s what makes them stand out.

The fuel to deliver high-octane dividend growth through the end of the decade

ConocoPhillips is on the cusp of a major growth wave. The oil and gas producer has invested heavily to transform its business into a cash-flow growth machine. It currently has decades of inventory with a supply cost below $40 a barrel. As a result, it’s producing lots of free cash flow at the current oil price point in the upper $60s. Meanwhile, its long-cycle investments in liquified natural gas (LNG) and Alaska should fuel robust free-cash-flow growth over the coming years.

The company’s 2024 merger with Marathon Oil has paid off even more than anticipated. The oil giant initially expected to capture $500 million in annual cost savings within the first year of closing the deal, which it subsequently doubled to $1 billion. It now expects to deliver $1 billion in additional cost and margin enhancements from this merger by the end of next year. On top of that, its investments in a trio of global LNG projects and Willow development in Alaska should add another $6 billion in incremental free cash flow to its annual total by 2029.

This surge in free cash flow will give ConocoPhillips more fuel to increase its already attractive dividend (at over 3%, it’s more than double the S&P 500‘s 1.2% yield). The company intends to deliver dividend growth within the top 25% of companies in the S&P 500 in the future. That high-octane growth rate from a company that already offers a high-yielding payout makes it a very attractive dividend stock to add to these days.

The high-end dividend growth should continue

VICI Properties has built one of the country’s largest experiential real estate portfolios. The real estate investment trust (REIT) invests in market-leading gaming, hospitality, wellness, entertainment, and leisure destinations. It leases the properties it owns to high-quality operating companies under long-term, triple-net leases (NNN), an increasing percentage of which escalates rents at rates tied to inflation (42% this year, rising to 90% by 2035). As a result, VICI Properties generates very stable and steadily rising rental income.

The REIT also invests in real estate-backed loans. These investments provide it with incremental interest income to support its dividend and often come with the option to acquire the underlying real estate in the future.

VICI Properties often partners with leading experiential companies. It provides them with capital to expand (through sale-leaseback transactions, real estate loans, and other financing), which supplies the REIT with new investment opportunities.

This strategy has paid big dividends for investors over the years. VICI Properties has increased its dividend payment every year since its formation seven years ago. It has grown its payout at a 7.4% compound annual rate, significantly faster than the 2.3% compound annual dividend growth rate of other REITs focused on investing in NNN real estate. With its dividend yield currently over 5% these days, VICI Properties is an attractive income investment. Meanwhile, with more portfolio growth ahead as its partners continue expanding, this REIT should provide investors with a lucrative and steadily rising stream of passive dividend income backed by its high-quality real estate portfolio.

Top-notch dividend stocks

ConocoPhillips and VICI Properties are great dividend stocks to add to these days. They currently offer higher-yielding dividends that should continue growing at above-average rates in the coming years. That positions these dividend stocks to produce attractive total returns from here.

Matt DiLallo has positions in ConocoPhillips and Vici Properties. The Motley Fool recommends Vici Properties. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

The average healthcare stock has a yield of just 1.8%, which isn’t much to write home about today. You can do much better than that with Medtronic (MDT 4.39%), currently yielding 3%, or if you’re really income-hungry, Alexandria Real Estate Equities (ARE -0.71%), now at 6.9%.

Here’s why these two high-yield healthcare stocks could be buy-and-hold candidates for your income portfolio right now.

Medtronic is moving in the right direction

A $1,000 investment in Medtronic will get you around 10 shares of the medical device giant. It has operations in the cardiovascular, neuroscience, medical-surgical, and diabetes arenas, and is a major player in every niche in which it operates. It also has a long history of success that’s highlighted by the company’s 48-year streak of annual dividend increases, which puts it just two years away from Dividend King status.

That dividend streak is really important because it shows that Medtronic knows how to survive through both good and bad times. Indeed, a company can’t create a record like that without having successfully muddled through a few rough patches. The 3% dividend yield is historically high today, which signals that Medtronic is going through another rough patch. What’s happening right now, however, isn’t unusual.

Medtronic’s business is heavily dependent on research and development. R&D is notoriously lumpy, and recent years haven’t been great for new product launches. But new products are starting to get introduced, which should help boost growth.

Meanwhile, costs have become an issue. It’s normal for a large company to experience bloat, and Medtronic is looking to slim down and refocus around its most profitable businesses; the next big move is the spinoff of its diabetes business in 2026. The move is expected to be accretive in the first year, highlighting management’s focus on profitability.

In other words, Medtronic is doing what it should be doing — and that is what it has long done as a business. If you have a buy-and-hold mentality, putting $1,000 to work in Medtronic today could be a great long-term investment choice.

Alexandria is an industry-leading healthcare landlord

You can buy around 12 shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities with $1,000. It’s a real estate investment trust (REIT) that focuses on owning medical offices. But that description doesn’t do it justice, because those medical offices are highly specialized around medical research. They’re vastly different from doctors’ offices, given the technology needed to support healthcare research and development.

Alexandria has long focused on building clusters — a number of buildings located near each other — in areas where medical research is a major industry. That helps with costs, and also helped to solidify the REIT as a leading property owner in its chosen niche.

That said, Alexandria is in a bit of a transition period right now, as it looks to slim down to its best assets amid a broader slowdown in the medical-office space. A few large move-outs have also hampered results, with occupancy down to roughly 91% at the end of the second quarter of 2025, from about 95% at the end of 2024.

Investors are worried, which isn’t unreasonable, since adjusted funds from operations (FFO) per share fell slightly year over year in the second quarter. Still, the $2.33 per share in adjusted FFO is more than enough to cover the $1.32 per share in quarterly dividends.

While it’s true that office space requires more cash investment than many other property types, there is material leeway for adversity for Alexandria. And given that the dividend has been increased annually for 15 straight years, it seems highly likely that the board will look to support the dividend through this weak patch.

Note, too, that the balance sheet is in very strong shape and the company doesn’t have any material near-term debt maturities on the horizon. If you don’t mind buying when others are fearful, this REIT looks like an attractive income opportunity.

The right time to buy is often the hard time to buy

It’s easy to buy stocks that everybody loves, but just following the crowd can lead to bad investment choices. That’s why it often pays to go down a less crowded path, buying well-run businesses when they’re facing hard times.

That’s exactly the case with both Medtronic and Alexandria Real Estate Equities today. History suggests that both have a good chance of breaking out of their current funk. And that makes them strong buy-and-hold investment choices for long-term dividend investors.

Reuben Gregg Brewer has positions in Medtronic. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alexandria Real Estate Equities. The Motley Fool recommends Medtronic and recommends the following options: long January 2026 $75 calls on Medtronic and short January 2026 $85 calls on Medtronic. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

One of the best ways to ensure an investment can reward you well for the rest of your life is to buy reliable, high-yield stocks. On that front, Enterprise Products Partners (EPD 0.81%) stands out. A well-above-market distribution yield of 6.8% is one reason for that, but so is the strength of the midstream master limited partnership’s (MLP’s) business and its impressive distribution history. Here’s what you need to know before buying.

What does Enterprise Products Partners do?

Enterprise Products Partners owns energy infrastructure, including pipelines, storage, processing, and transportation assets. It operates in what is generally referred to as the “midstream” segment of the overall energy sector. This is very important if you are looking to set yourself up with a reliable income stream for the rest of your life.

The “upstream” is where oil and natural gas are produced. The “downstream” is where these commodities are processed. Financial results in both the upstream and the downstream are heavily influenced by often volatile commodity prices. The midstream, which basically connects the upstream to the downstream (and the rest of the world), isn’t. Midstream businesses generally charge fees for the use of their energy assets. So, demand for energy, which tends to be fairly robust through the economic cycle, is more important to financial results.

Basically, Enterprise Products Partners’ core business is designed to produce reliable cash flows. And those cash flows support the MLP’s lofty 6.8% distribution yield. That yield is likely to make up the lion’s share of an investor’s return over time, but that probably won’t be a problem for income-oriented investors.

How reliable is Enterprise Products Partners?

Enterprise Products Partners’ business is designed to generate reliable cash flows, but what does history say about its ability to set you up with a lifetime of reliable distributions? Well, a lot.

For starters, Enterprise has increased its distribution annually for 26 consecutive years. That notably includes increases during the coronavirus pandemic and the oil downturn in 2016, both times when it would have been easy to justify a distribution cut. In fact, peers did cut their distributions in both of those periods, including Energy Transfer (NYSE: ET) in 2020 and Kinder Morgan (NYSE: KMI) in 2016.

EPD Dividend data by YCharts

If you are looking for a reliable income investment, Enterprise Products Partners stands out. But there’s more to like here than just the distribution streak. For example, Enterprise Products Partners has an investment-grade-rated balance sheet. The distribution is covered 1.7x by the MLP’s distributable cash flow. Essentially, there is a lot of room for adversity before a distribution cut would likely be on the table.

The distribution seems highly likely to keep growing, as well. The first reason is inherent to the midstream business. Increasing the fees charged along with inflation is the industry norm. Meanwhile, Enterprise has a long history of growing through capital investment projects, with a $7.6 billion capital plan currently in the works. On top of those two growth levers, Enterprise happens to be large enough to act as an industry consolidator. So, the occasional acquisition is a further growth driver to keep in mind, though acquisitions are impossible to predict.

Enterprise offers a compelling story for income investors

The one caveat here is that the world is increasingly using cleaner energy sources. However, the transition is likely to take decades, and it is far more likely that an all-of-the-above strategy (that includes carbon fuels) will be the final outcome. Don’t count Enterprise out because it deals with carbon energy. All in, if you are looking for an investment that can set you up with a lifetime of income, Enterprise Products Partners and its lofty 6.8% distribution yield should be on your shortlist today.

Reuben Gregg Brewer has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Kinder Morgan. The Motley Fool recommends Enterprise Products Partners. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.