Been doing some digging into reliable income plays lately, and I keep coming back to a couple of solid monthly dividend stocks that are worth a closer look right now.

First up is EPR Properties. It's a REIT that focuses on experiential real estate—think movie theaters, golf resorts, theme parks. What grabbed my attention is that they just bumped their monthly dividend by 5.1%, which pushed their yield above 6%. That's meaningful. The reason they can do this is because their funds from operations per share grew at that same rate last year. They're planning to deploy $400-500 million into new properties this year, up from about $288 million previously. That capital deployment should fuel another 5%+ FFO growth, which typically means more dividend increases coming.

The structure is pretty clean too—they use long-term triple-net leases, which means tenants cover maintenance, taxes, and insurance. That creates stable, predictable cash flows. They're paying out roughly 70% of FFO as dividends and keeping the rest for reinvestment. It's a model that works.

Then there's Realty Income. This one's almost boring in how consistent it is—and that's actually the appeal. They've increased their dividend every single quarter for 113 quarters straight. That's over 28 years of uninterrupted raises. Their current yield sits at 4.9%, and they just raised the payout by 2.9% last year. They're diversified across retail, industrial, and gaming properties, all backed by long-term net leases with major companies.

What's interesting is their scale and reinvestment capacity. They spent $6.3 billion expanding last year and are targeting at least $8 billion in 2026. With a $14 trillion total addressable market in commercial real estate, they've got room to keep growing. They're funding expansion through retained cash flow (75% payout ratio), their balance sheet, and strategic partnerships. The math supports another roughly 3% FFO growth this year, which means more dividend increases.

Both of these top monthly dividend stocks have compelling outlooks for 2026. EPR is accelerating growth after years of mid-3% rates, while Realty Income is just methodically doing what it's always done—raising dividends consistently. If you're building a passive income portfolio, these are the kinds of positions that actually deliver. They're not flashy, but they work.