9 Highest-Yielding Monthly Dividend Stocks for May
Monthly dividend stocks like ARR and AGNC can provide investors with frequent payments — but those payments aren’t always sustainable. Here’s what to know.
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Written by Sam Taube
Edited by Chris Davis
Managing Editor
Nerdy takeaways
- Monthly dividend stocks are shares of publicly-traded companies that pay dividends on a monthly frequency.
- Many monthly dividend stocks have potentially-unsustainable dividends, and may not be able to continue their payouts indefinitely.
- Some ETFs pay dividends monthly, although they may not be composed of monthly dividend stocks.
After years of high inflation, many Americans — retirees in particular — could use a little extra cash every month. Monthly dividend stocks are one investment that can provide it. And for dividend investors, there’s even a silver lining to the stock market volatility we’ve seen in 2025: it has pushed the yields on many dividend stocks up into the double-digits.
Top 9 monthly dividend stocks by yield
Below is a list of the 9 highest-yielding monthly dividend stocks with market capitalizations of at least $1 billion and payout ratios below 100%, meaning they are paying out less in dividends per share than they are bringing in in earnings per share (EPS).
They are ordered by forward dividend yield, which is calculated by dividing the sum of a company’s projected dividend payouts over the next year by its current share price.
Tip: You can use the dividend yields below to fill out our dividend calculator and estimate future gains for a particular stock.
| Company name | Forward dividend yield (annual) |
|---|---|
| Armour Residential REIT (ARR) | 17.52% |
| AGNC Investment Corp. (AGNC) | 16.25% |
| Ellington Financial (EFC) | 12.01% |
| Apple Hospitality REIT (APLE) | 8.07% |
| EPR Properties (EPR) | 7.09% |
| Realty Income Corp. (O) | 5.63% |
| Main Street Capital Corp. (MAIN) | 5.62% |
| SL Green Realty Corp. (SLG) | 5.60% |
| Stag Industrial, Inc. (STAG) | 4.41% |
| Source: Dividend.com. Stock data is current as of May 2, 2025, and is for informational purposes only. | |
What are monthly dividend stocks?
Monthly dividend stocks are a subcategory of dividend stocks: shares of publicly-traded companies that pay a portion of their profits to shareholders.
Many dividend stocks pay out dividends quarterly or annually, but monthly dividend stocks, as their name implies, pay out every month.
Pros and cons of monthly dividend stocks
The biggest advantage of monthly dividend stocks is the frequent, and often substantial, payments they provide. Some of the stocks listed above have yields more than twice as high as the 10-year Treasury note. And while Treasury bond holders only get paid twice a year, monthly dividend stock holders get paid every month.
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