10 Stocks Yielding 10% or More

Published: February 15, 2026  |  High-Yield

The 10% Yield Challenge

In a world where the S&P 500 yields approximately 1.3% and the 10-year Treasury hovers around 4.3%, achieving a 10%+ portfolio yield requires venturing beyond conventional equities and bonds into specialized income sectors. The good news: there are legitimate, publicly traded securities offering double-digit yields backed by real cashflows. The bad news: for every sustainable 10% yielder, there are three yield traps waiting to cut their distributions and destroy your capital. The key is understanding which payouts are supported by durable business models and which are living on borrowed time.

Below, we profile ten stocks currently yielding 10% or more that we believe have sustainable or improving payout profiles. These are not risk-free investments — high yield always comes with elevated risk — but each has a clear economic rationale for its outsized distribution.

Portfolio Overview

BDC Selections (4 Picks)

1. Ares Capital Corporation (ARCC) — 9.8%: The largest publicly traded BDC at $25+ billion in total assets. Ares Capital is the bellwether of the BDC industry, with a 20-year track record, investment-grade balance sheet, and first lien-focused portfolio. NII consistently covers the regular dividend, and special distributions have supplemented returns in recent quarters. While the yield dips just below 10%, its risk-adjusted profile earns it a spot.

2. Blue Owl Capital Corporation (OBDC) — 11.8%: Managed by Blue Owl's massive direct lending platform, OBDC focuses on upper middle-market first lien loans to sponsor-backed companies. The floating-rate portfolio benefits from elevated interest rates, and the pending OBDE merger will create additional scale.

3. Golub Capital BDC (GBDC) — 10.5%: A middle-market specialist with an exceptionally low historical loss rate. Golub's underwriting discipline and focus on recurring-revenue software companies has produced one of the most consistent NII streams in the BDC sector.

4. Crescent Capital BDC (CCAP) — 11.2%: Sun Life-backed BDC with a 90%+ first lien portfolio and non-accrual rates among the lowest in the industry. The lower middle-market focus provides wider spreads and stronger protections.

MLP & Midstream (2 Picks)

5. Enterprise Products Partners (EPD) — 7.0%: Technically below our 10% threshold on current yield, but EPD's integrated NGL value chain, 3.0x leverage, and 26-year distribution growth streak make it the foundation of any high-yield midstream portfolio. The MLP structure provides tax-advantaged return-of-capital distributions that can boost after-tax yield above 10% for investors in high tax brackets.

6. Energy Transfer (ET) — 7.8%: The most diversified midstream MLP, operating across crude oil, natural gas, NGLs, and refined products transportation. Post-2020 restructuring, the balance sheet is significantly improved and the distribution is well-covered at 1.8x. Like EPD, the MLP tax treatment enhances after-tax returns.

Shipping (2 Picks)

7. Hafnia Limited (HAFN) — 12.5%: The world's largest product tanker company, distributing the majority of its earnings to shareholders. With the product tanker fleet aging and the orderbook at generational lows, Hafnia's earning power is structurally supported by supply-side constraints.

8. International Seaways (INSW) — 11.0%: A crude and product tanker operator with a modern fleet, low breakeven rates, and a variable dividend policy that passes through excess cashflows. Management has demonstrated disciplined capital allocation through fleet renewal at attractive pricing.

Alternative Income (2 Picks)

9. AGNC Investment Corp (AGNC) — 14.5%: An agency mortgage REIT that invests in residential mortgage-backed securities guaranteed by US government agencies. The yield is among the highest available from investment-grade fixed-income exposure, though book value volatility from interest rate movements requires a strong stomach.

10. Arbor Realty Trust (ABR) — 12.0%: A specialty finance REIT focused on multifamily and single-family rental bridge loans. Arbor's agency origination platform generates fee income that supplements its portfolio interest income, and the multifamily focus benefits from structural housing demand.

Portfolio Construction Notes

Equal-weighting these ten positions produces a portfolio yield of approximately 11.4%. However, we recommend overweighting the BDC and midstream positions (which offer the most durable cashflows) and underweighting the shipping and mortgage REIT positions (which are more cyclical). A 40% BDC / 25% midstream / 20% shipping / 15% alternative income allocation provides a balanced blend of yield and stability.

Critically, no single position should exceed 10% of your total income portfolio. Diversification is your primary defense against the inevitable distribution cut that will occur in at least one of these names over a multi-year holding period.