Investors love dividend stocks, especially those with high yields, because they provide a substantial income stream and offer significant total return potential. Total return includes interest, capital gains, dividends, and distributions realized over time. In other words, the total return on an investment or a portfolio consists of income and stock appreciation. At 24/7 Wall St., we consistently emphasize the potential of total return to our readers. It is one of the most effective ways to enhance the prospects of overall investing success. Once again, total return refers to the collective increase in a stock’s value, including dividends.
24/7 Wall St. Key Points:
So far, second-quarter earnings have come in solid despite tariff worries
The Federal Reserve will likely lower interest rates in September
The U.S. economy grew 3% in the second quarter, beating expectations
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Second quarter earnings season is in full swing, and not surprisingly, many of the top U.S. stocks, especially in the technology arena, are posting some outstanding results. We decided to screen our 24/7 Wall St. high-yield dividend stock research database, looking for companies that pay big and dependable dividends that also beat Wall Street’s second-quarter earnings expectations. Four of our favorite companies came up in that category. All make sense for growth and income investors, and all have a Buy rating from top firms on Wall Street that we cover.
Why do we cover dividend stocks?
Dividend stocks offer investors a reliable source of passive income. Passive income is characterized by its ability to generate revenue without requiring the earner’s continuous active effort, making it a desirable financial strategy for those seeking to diversify their income streams or achieve financial independence.
Altria
Altria is one of the world’s largest producers and marketers of tobacco, cigarettes, and related products. This tobacco company offers value investors a compelling entry point and a generous dividend yield, and beat Q2 2025 earnings expectations. The company reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.44, surpassing the analyst estimate of $1.38. Revenue was $6.1 billion, exceeding the consensus estimate of $5.2 billion. Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) manufactures and sells smokable and oral tobacco products in the United States through its subsidiaries.
The company provides cigarettes primarily under the Marlboro brand;
Cigars and pipe tobacco, principally under the Black & Mild and Middleton brands
Moist smokeless tobacco and snus products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands
on! Oral nicotine pouches
e-vapor products under the NJOY ACE brand.
It sells its tobacco products primarily to wholesalers, including distributors and large retail organizations, such as chain stores.
Altria used to own over 10% of Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE: BUD), the world’s largest brewer. Earlier this year, the company sold 35 million of its 197 million shares through a global secondary offering. That represents 18% of its holdings, but still leaves 8% of the outstanding shares in its back pocket. Altria also announced a $2.4 billion stock repurchase plan partially funded by the sale.
Stifel has a Buy rating with a $63 target price.
JPMorgan Chase
JPMorgan Chase is the fifth-largest bank in the world by assets. This blue chip giant beat both earnings-per-share and revenue expectations for Q2 2025. The strong beat was attributed to substantial equities trading revenue (up 15%) and fixed-income trading revenue (up 14%), alongside robust investment banking activity. JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is one of the leading global financial services firms and one of the largest banking institutions in the US, with about $3.9 trillion in assets. The company was formed by merging the Chase Manhattan retail banks and the JP Morgan investment banks.
The company operates through four segments:
Consumer & Community Banking (CCB)
Corporate & Investment Bank (CIB)
Commercial Banking (CB)
Asset & Wealth Management (AWM).
The CCB segment offers:
Deposit, investment, and lending products
Cash management, payments, and services
Mortgage origination and servicing activities
Residential mortgages and home equity loans
Credit cards, auto loans, leases, and travel services are offered to consumers and small businesses through bank branches, ATMs, and digital and telephone banking.
The CIB segment provides:
Investment banking products and services, including corporate strategy and structure advisory, and equity and debt market capital-raising services
Loan origination and syndication, payments, cash and derivative instruments, risk management solutions, prime brokerage, and research
This segment also offers securities services, including custody, fund accounting and administration, and securities lending products for asset managers, insurance companies, and public and private investment funds.
The CB segment provides financial solutions, including lending, payments, investment banking, and asset management to small and midsized companies, local governments, nonprofit clients, and large corporations, as well as investors, developers, and owners of multifamily, office, retail, industrial, and affordable housing properties.
The AWM segment offers multi-asset investment management solutions in equities, fixed income, alternatives, and money market funds to institutional clients and retail investors; and retirement products and services, brokerage, custody, estate planning, lending, deposits, and investment management products to high-net-worth clients.
Bank of America has a Buy rating with a $340 target price.
PepsiCo
This top consumer staples stock reported adjusted earnings per share of $2.12, topping expectations. Revenue was $22.73 billion, surpassing the expected $22.27 billion, up 1% year-over-year. PepsiCo reiterated its full-year outlook, indicating confidence in its performance. PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE: PEP) is a worldwide food and beverage company.
Its Frito-Lay North America segment offers:
Lays and Ruffles potato chips
Doritos, Tostitos, and Santitas tortilla chips
Cheetos cheese-flavored snacks, branded dips
Fritos corn chips
The company’s Quaker Foods North America segment provides:
Quaker Oatmeal
Grits
Rice cakes
Natural granola and oat squares
Pearl Milling mixes and syrups
Quaker Chewy granola bars
Cap’n Crunch cereal
Life cereal
Rice-A-Roni side dishes
Pepsico’s North America Beverages segment offers beverage concentrates, fountain syrups, and finished goods under these brands:
Pepsi
Gatorade
Mountain Dew
Diet Pepsi
Aquafina
Diet Mountain Dew
Tropicana Pure Premium
Sierra Mist
Mug brands
Citigroup has a Buy rating to go with a $168 target price objective.
Verizon
Verizon Communications Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications company that continues to offer tremendous value. The company posted Q2 2025 EPS that topped analyst estimates. Revenue also exceeded forecasts, driven by stronger-than-expected broadband subscriber additions (293,000 vs. 224,100 expected) and improved wireless retail core prepaid customer numbers. Verizon Communications, Inc. (NYSE: VZ), through its subsidiaries, provides a range of communications, technology, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and government entities worldwide.
It operates in two segments:
Verizon Consumer Group
Verizon Business Group
The Consumer segment provides wireless services across the United States through Verizon and TracFone networks, as well as through wholesale and other arrangements.
It also provides fixed wireless access (FWA) broadband through its wireless networks and related equipment and devices, such as:
Smartphones
Tablets
Smartwatches and other wireless-enabled connected devices
The segment also offers wireline services in the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, and Washington, D.C., through its fiber-optic network, Verizon Fios product portfolio, and copper-based network.
The Business segment provides wireless and wireline communications services and products, including:
FWA broadband
Data
Video and conferencing
Corporate networking
Security and managed network
Local and long-distance voice
Network access services to deliver various IoT services and products to businesses, government customers, and wireless and wireline carriers in the United States and internationally.
Tigress Financial has given the company a “Buy” rating and a price target of $56.
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