The 3 Best Dividend Stocks Set to Dominate 2026

The stock market is at an inflection point, and it is hard to judge how 2026 could be. It could be another year of double-digit gains, just like 2023, 2024, and 2025 (so far), or it could be a year where the market corrects significantly.

In both scenarios, dividend stocks can outperform next year. Most growth stocks and tech names have pulled ahead significantly, and next year could see a 2022-esque rotation where investors seek refuge in companies with defensive characteristics. And if the market continues booming, dividend stocks will benefit as lower interest rates encourage investments in equities in place of bonds with declining yields. When interest rates fall, newly issued bonds carry lower coupons, so their income becomes less attractive than stocks. Investors who need higher returns than the dwindling bond yields will often reallocate toward dividend payers.

Here are the three dividend stocks to look into:

Evergy (EVRG)

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG | EVRG Price Prediction) is a regulated electric utility and is the largest one in Kansas. It serves ~1.7 million customers across the eastern half of Kansas and the western half of Missouri.

Utility stocks are among the safest places to bet on. While most companies are at risk of being hit with significant tariffs, utilities are almost entirely domestic. Evergy is an electric utility, so it also benefits from expanding transmission. Load is already growing from onshoring, EVs, and there are indirect tailwinds from data centers.

Growth remains sluggish for now, but management plans a long-term earnings growth target of 4-6% through 2029.

EVRG stock has outperformed the broader market significantly this year. It is up 15.35% year-to-date. Q2 results beat analyst estimates by 8.43% on the top line and 5.79% on the bottom line. It yields 3.76% and can keep performing well due to all the tailwinds.

Public Storage (PSA)

Public Storage (NYSE:PSA) is the largest self-storage REIT in the U.S. The company derives most of its revenue from rent from storage units. It builds rows of windowless, garage-sized rooms that it then rents out on a monthly basis for storage purposes. It’s almost like a subscription.

There has been some softening, but the long-term trend is very positive. Demand is bottoming out, and new supply isn’t growing fast enough. Home ownership rate remains low, dropping from 65.7% in Q4 2024 to 65.1% in Q2 2025. Renters often choose to use Public Storage, and urbanization in general favors self-storage.

PSA stock is down 2.2% year-to-date and off 29% from its 2022 high, but could start gaining more aggressively starting next year. Analysts expect 0.6% FFO growth in 2025, 3.34% in 2026, and further acceleration later this decade. Revenue growth is similarly expected to accelerate and can cross $5 billion next year.

You get a 4.14% dividend yield as you wait for a recovery. Dividends are well-covered by its FFO.

Atmos Energy (ATO)

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) is the largest natural-gas-only distributor in the U.S. It does not produce gas. Atmos buys gas on the wholesale market and delivers it to end-users through its own distribution and transmission systems. The company is currently investing heavily in infrastructure modernization and is spending ~$2 billion annually.

Those investments are helping it attract new industrial customers, and this includes data centers. Natural gas-powered fuel cells are considered near-clean energy and are more consistent and reliable. On top of that, the boom in natural gas exports from the U.S. to Europe is leading to even more demand for natural gas infrastructure.

ATO stock is up 18.6% year-to-date due to these tailwinds. Analysts see a significant increase in revenue over the coming years, and this can help it keep outperforming. FY 2025 revenue is expected to grow 17.1% and FY 2026 revenue is expected to grow 14%.

In Q2 2025, it grew revenue 19.6% year-over-year and beat analyst estimates by 1.92%.

The dividend yield is somewhat modest at 2.12%, but you get a fast-growing utility with solid upside potential.