Realty Income is one of the most widely held real estate investment trusts (REITs) in the world, and understanding what Realty Income does starts with a simple idea: the company buys freestanding commercial properties, leases them to tenants under long-term contracts, and passes most of the rental income to shareholders as dividends. Its business model, customer base, and revenue drivers make it a staple in many income-focused portfolios, and it pays dividends monthly rather than quarterly.
Key takeaways
- Realty Income (ticker: O) owns thousands of commercial properties leased to tenants like grocery stores, pharmacies, and dollar stores under long-term net lease agreements.
- The company's revenue comes almost entirely from contractual rent, which makes its cash flow more predictable than many other types of businesses.
- As a REIT, Realty Income is required to distribute at least 90% of its taxable income to shareholders, which is why the dividend is so central to the investment thesis.
- Net lease structures mean tenants, not Realty Income, pay property taxes, insurance, and maintenance costs on top of rent.
- The stock trades under the ticker O and has a decades-long track record of consecutive monthly dividend payments.
What does Realty Income do, exactly?
Realty Income buys commercial real estate, mostly freestanding single-tenant buildings, and leases them to businesses that need physical locations to operate. Think of the standalone Walgreens on a corner, a Dollar General along a highway, or a Wawa gas station off the interstate. Realty Income owns the building and the land. The tenant runs their business inside it and pays rent every month.
The company doesn't build these properties from scratch very often. Most of its growth comes from acquiring existing properties that already have tenants in place. When Realty Income buys a property, it's usually because the lease terms are attractive: long duration, a creditworthy tenant, and built-in rent increases over time. This "acquire and hold" approach is the engine behind the business.
Net lease: A lease structure where the tenant pays not just rent but also most or all of the property's operating expenses, including property taxes, insurance, and maintenance. This shifts the cost burden away from the landlord and makes rental income more predictable.
How does Realty Income make money?
The answer is straightforward: rent. Realty Income collects contractual rent from thousands of tenants across thousands of properties. Because these leases are typically structured as net leases, the company keeps most of what it collects without having to absorb big variable costs like property taxes or roof repairs.
Most of Realty Income's leases also include contractual rent escalators. These are clauses that increase the rent by a fixed percentage or by an amount tied to inflation at regular intervals during the lease term. So even without buying a single new property, the company's rental income from existing properties tends to grow over time.
On top of that, Realty Income grows by acquiring more properties. The company regularly raises capital through stock offerings and debt issuance, then uses that capital to buy properties at yields that exceed its cost of capital. The spread between what it earns on its properties and what it pays to finance them is where the profit lives.
Where does the money go?
As a REIT, Realty Income is legally required to pay out at least 90% of its taxable income as dividends. In practice, most REITs pay out even more. This is why Realty Income doesn't retain much earnings for reinvestment the way a tech company might. Instead, it cycles through a pattern: collect rent, pay dividends, raise new capital, buy more properties, repeat.
What types of properties does Realty Income own?
Realty Income's portfolio is heavily weighted toward retail properties, but not the kind of retail that keeps investors up at night. The company focuses on tenants in industries that are resistant to e-commerce disruption and economic downturns. Here's what that looks like in practice:
- Convenience stores and gas stations — people still fill up their cars and grab snacks in person.
- Grocery stores — food shopping has stayed largely physical despite delivery options.
- Dollar stores — Dollar General and Dollar Tree locations are among the most common tenants.
- Pharmacies — Walgreens and CVS locations need physical storefronts for prescriptions.
- Quick-service restaurants — fast food chains need drive-throughs, which can't move online.
In recent years, Realty Income has also expanded into industrial properties (warehouses and distribution centers), gaming properties (casinos), and even some European markets. This diversification means the company isn't entirely dependent on any single tenant, industry, or geography.
Freestanding property: A single-tenant commercial building that sits on its own lot, separate from a shopping mall or strip center. These properties are the backbone of Realty Income's portfolio because they're simpler to manage and easier to re-lease if a tenant leaves.
What is O stock, and why do investors care about it?
O is the ticker symbol for Realty Income on the New York Stock Exchange. It's become so associated with income investing that the company has trademarked the phrase "The Monthly Dividend Company." That branding isn't just marketing. Realty Income has paid a dividend every single month for over fifty years and has increased that dividend more than a hundred times.
For investors who want regular cash flow, especially retirees or those building a passive income stream, the monthly payment schedule is a big draw. Most stocks that pay dividends do so quarterly. Getting paid twelve times a year instead of four feels more like a paycheck, and it makes budgeting around dividend income easier.
You can explore Realty Income's profile, including key financial metrics, on the Rallies.ai O stock page.
Why is Realty Income's dividend so consistent?
A few structural factors work in Realty Income's favor when it comes to dividend reliability:
- Long-term leases: Most of the company's leases run 10 to 20 years, with options to renew. This means Realty Income has high visibility into future cash flows years in advance.
- Creditworthy tenants: The company prioritizes tenants with strong credit ratings or dominant market positions. A Walgreens or a FedEx distribution center is less likely to default on rent than a local boutique.
- Net lease structure: Because tenants cover operating expenses, Realty Income's margins on each property are relatively stable. There's less room for unexpected cost spikes to eat into profits.
- Diversification: With thousands of properties spread across dozens of industries and multiple countries, no single tenant or property can sink the dividend. Even if a handful of tenants go bankrupt in a given year, the rest of the portfolio absorbs the impact.
- Conservative management: Realty Income has historically maintained a payout ratio that leaves a cushion. They don't pay out every last dollar, which gives them room to maintain the dividend even during rough patches.
None of this makes the dividend "guaranteed," and investors should always evaluate dividend safety for themselves. But the combination of predictable income, low operating costs, and tenant quality is the reason Realty Income has maintained its track record for so long.
How do REITs like Realty Income differ from regular stocks?
REITs are a distinct asset class. They own and operate income-producing real estate, and in exchange for favorable tax treatment, they must distribute most of their income. This means REITs tend to offer higher yields than the average stock but may have less price appreciation potential because they can't reinvest as much cash into growth.
Realty Income specifically falls into the "net lease REIT" subcategory, which is considered one of the more defensive corners of the REIT world. The combination of long leases, essential-service tenants, and predictable rent makes net lease REITs popular among conservative income investors.
REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust): A company that owns, operates, or finances income-producing real estate and is required to distribute at least 90% of taxable income as dividends. REITs let individual investors access real estate income without buying physical property.
Realty Income for beginners: what to look at first
If you're new to evaluating Realty Income or any REIT, here are the metrics and concepts that matter most:
- Funds from operations (FFO): This is the REIT equivalent of earnings per share. Traditional earnings metrics don't work well for REITs because depreciation (a non-cash charge) distorts the picture. FFO adds depreciation back in, giving you a cleaner view of how much cash the business actually generates.
- Adjusted funds from operations (AFFO): Takes FFO and adjusts for maintenance capital expenditures and other items. Many analysts consider AFFO the best measure of a REIT's ability to sustain its dividend.
- Occupancy rate: The percentage of Realty Income's properties that are currently leased. Higher is better. Realty Income has historically maintained occupancy rates above 95%, which is strong for the industry.
- Dividend yield: The annualized dividend divided by the stock price. This tells you the income return you'd earn if you bought at a given price. Compare it to other REITs and to the broader market to get context.
- Debt-to-EBITDA: A measure of how leveraged the company is. REITs use a lot of debt to acquire properties, so this ratio tells you whether the company's borrowing is at a manageable level relative to its earnings.
If you want to dig into these metrics yourself, the Rallies AI Research Assistant can walk you through any of them in plain language.
What are the risks of investing in Realty Income?
No stock is risk-free, and Realty Income has its own set of vulnerabilities worth understanding:
- Interest rate sensitivity: Because REITs are valued partly for their yield, rising interest rates can make them less attractive relative to bonds. When rates go up, REIT prices often come under pressure.
- Tenant concentration risk: While Realty Income is diversified, its largest tenants still represent a meaningful chunk of revenue. If a major tenant like a large retail chain files for bankruptcy, it would create a temporary drag on income.
- Slower growth potential: The net lease model is built for stability, not explosive growth. Investors looking for rapid capital appreciation may find Realty Income too slow-moving for their goals.
- Dilution from equity raises: Because REITs pay out most of their income, they frequently issue new shares to fund acquisitions. This dilutes existing shareholders unless the acquired properties generate returns above the cost of that new equity.
These aren't reasons to avoid Realty Income. They're factors to weigh based on your own financial goals and risk tolerance. Doing your own research, or working with a qualified financial advisor, is always the right move before making any investment decision.
Try it yourself
Want to run this kind of analysis on your own? Copy any of these prompts and paste them into the Rallies AI Research Assistant:
- Explain Realty Income's business model like I'm new to REITs — how do they make money, what types of properties do they own, and what makes their dividend so consistent?
- Explain what Realty Income does like I'm new to investing — how does the business work and why does it matter?
- What are the biggest risks to Realty Income's dividend, and how does the company's lease structure protect against them?
Frequently asked questions
What is O stock?
O is the ticker symbol for Realty Income Corporation, a REIT that owns thousands of commercial properties leased to tenants under long-term net lease agreements. It trades on the New York Stock Exchange and is widely held by income-focused investors because of its monthly dividend payments.
How is Realty Income for beginners as an investment to study?
Realty Income is one of the most commonly recommended REITs for beginners to research because its business model is easy to understand: buy properties, lease them, collect rent, pay dividends. The company's long track record of monthly payments also makes it a useful case study for learning about dividend investing and REIT fundamentals.
Does Realty Income pay monthly dividends?
Yes. Realty Income pays dividends on a monthly schedule, which is unusual compared to most dividend-paying stocks that distribute quarterly. The company has made consecutive monthly payments for over fifty years and has increased the payout more than a hundred times during that span.
What does "net lease" mean in the context of Realty Income?
A net lease means the tenant pays not only rent but also property taxes, building insurance, and maintenance costs. This structure reduces Realty Income's operating expenses and makes its rental income more predictable, since the company isn't exposed to fluctuating property costs on each building it owns.
How does Realty Income grow its revenue?
Realty Income grows through two main channels: contractual rent increases built into existing leases, and acquiring new properties. The company raises capital through stock issuances and debt, then buys properties at yields designed to exceed its cost of capital. This acquisition-driven model has been the primary growth engine for decades.
Is Realty Income only a retail REIT?
While retail properties make up the majority of the portfolio, Realty Income also owns industrial properties like warehouses, gaming facilities, and properties in European markets. The company has been gradually diversifying beyond traditional retail to reduce concentration risk and expand its addressable market.
Bottom line
Understanding what Realty Income does comes down to a simple loop: buy freestanding commercial properties, lease them to creditworthy tenants on long-term net leases, collect rent, and distribute most of it as monthly dividends. The business model is one of the easiest to understand in the entire stock market, which is part of why it's so popular among both new and experienced investors.
If you want to go deeper on how REITs fit into a broader portfolio or compare Realty Income to similar companies, explore more stock analysis resources on Rallies.ai or use the Vibe Screener to find REITs that match your criteria.
Disclaimer: This article is for educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute investment advice, financial advice, trading advice, or any other type of advice. Rallies.ai does not recommend that any security, portfolio of securities, transaction, or investment strategy is suitable for any specific person. All investments involve risk, including the possible loss of principal. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Before making any investment decision, consult with a qualified financial advisor and conduct your own research.
Written by Gav Blaxberg, CEO of WOLF Financial and Co-Founder of Rallies.ai.