With the broader market continuing to reward growth and momentum, it can be easy to overlook the quiet, compounding power of high-yielding names that pay you while you wait. But for investors with a 10-year horizon, that combination of income and total return potential is hard to beat.
High-yielding names offer something that pure growth stocks cannot: they pay you while you wait, compounding income over time regardless of what the broader market is doing on any given day.
The five names below span pharmaceuticals, consumer staples, energy, dividend-focused ETFs, and options-enhanced income strategies. Each offers a compelling yield, a durable business or structure, and a reason to hold through the inevitable ups and downs of the next decade.
AbbVie: A Dividend Aristocrat With a Pipeline to Match
AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) is one of the most well-known biopharmaceutical names in high-yield investing for good reason. The biopharmaceutical giant currently yields 3.2%, pays a quarterly dividend of $1.73 per share, and has raised its dividend for 53 consecutive years, earning its place among the Dividend Kings. For income-focused investors, that track record of consistent and growing payments is exactly what a 10-year hold demands.
For years, the narrative around AbbVie centered on Humira's patent cliff and what would replace it. That question has now been answered convincingly. Skyrizi and Rinvoq, its next-generation immunology treatments, have been growing at a pace that more than offsets the Humira headwind. The aesthetics segment, anchored by Botox and added through the 2020 Allergan acquisition, provides diversification into a high-margin, consumer-driven business.
Q1 2026 results beat estimates, and management raised its full-year 2026 earnings per share (EPS) guidance once again, a pattern that has become almost routine. The consensus across 25 analysts is Moderate Buy, with a price target of $253.43, implying about 20% upside from current levels. At a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) of almost 15, the stock trades at a meaningful discount to the broader market.
Mondelez International: Branded Snacks, Reliable Income
Mondelez International (NASDAQ: MDLZ) is not a name that generates much excitement in momentum-driven markets. But for buy-and-hold income investors, it offers exactly what the strategy requires: a resilient business, a consistent dividend, and a portfolio of iconic global brands that have endured for decades. Oreo, Cadbury, Milka, Toblerone, Ritz, and Chips Ahoy collectively represent one of the most powerful consumer snacking portfolios in the world, with distribution across over 150 countries.
The stock is up 15% year-to-date and recently declared its regular quarterly dividend of 50 cents per share. The current yield stands at 3.2%, and with a beta of just 0.4, MDLZ moves far less than the broader market. For investors with a longer time horizon and a more conservative outlook, that combination of income and lower volatility becomes an increasingly attractive feature of a well-rounded portfolio.
Q1 2026 results beat estimates on both revenue and earnings, and analysts noted that profitability normalization is underway. The consensus among 23 analysts is Moderate Buy, with a price target of $67.05, implying nearly 10% upside from current levels. From a technical perspective, MDLZ also possesses an intriguing setup. The stock has spent several weeks consolidating in a bullish formation. A move above resistance near $63 could spark the upward momentum many of its shareholders have been waiting for.
ExxonMobil: The Energy Giant Paying You to Wait
ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) is the kind of stock that income investors return to decade after decade. The company has raised its dividend for 42 consecutive years, a streak that has survived multiple oil price collapses, recessions, and energy transitions, and currently yields 2.7%. For investors with a 10-year time horizon, or even longer, that exact consistency and durability of income is a meaningful foundation.
The stock is up close to 30% year-to-date, driven by elevated oil prices and geopolitical tensions, the integration of Pioneer Natural Resources, and the expansion of operations in Guyana, where ExxonMobil is developing one of the most productive offshore oil fields discovered in decades. The Pioneer acquisition added over 1.3 million barrels of production capacity per day and a low-cost, high-margin Permian Basin portfolio that will generate cash flow for years to come.
The forward P/E of about 13 and a beta of just 0.2 make XOM one of the least volatile mega-cap equities in the market. The consensus among 21 analysts is Moderate Buy, with a price target of $163.95. For investors who want energy sector income with the stability of one of the world's strongest balance sheets, ExxonMobil is the name to own for the long term.
SCHD: The Gold Standard of Dividend ETFs
The Schwab US Dividend Equity ETF (NYSEARCA: SCHD) needs little introduction for income investors. With $95.35 billion in assets under management, a dividend yield of 3.2%, and an expense ratio of just 0.06%, it is widely regarded as the most cost-efficient vehicle for dividend-focused equity exposure in the U.S. market. SCHD tracks the Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index, a rules-based index of 100 high-quality, dividend-paying U.S. companies screened for financial strength, dividend consistency, and relative yield.
The ETF is up an impressive 20% year to date, trading near its 52-week high of $32.88. Its top 10 holdings read like a who's who of reliable dividend payers, including Texas Instruments (NASDAQ: TXN), Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM), UnitedHealth (NYSE: UNH), Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO), Chevron (NYSE: CVX), and ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP).
Its portfolio of vast holdings is diversified enough to reduce single-stock risk while remaining concentrated enough to benefit from genuine dividend growth over time. With a beta of 0.7, SCHD moves with the market but absorbs less of the downside.
For investors who want a set-and-forget approach to dividend income without picking individual stocks, SCHD is as close to a definitive answer as the ETF market offers.
QQQI: High Monthly Income With a Tax-Efficient Twist
The NEOS Nasdaq 100 High Income ETF (NASDAQ: QQQI) is the most distinctive name on this list and the one that requires the most context to appreciate fully. The fund currently yields 13.3%, paying monthly distributions, and has generated a total return of about 15% in the past 12 months while maintaining exposure to the Nasdaq-100's largest names, including NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA), Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), and Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL).
The yield is generated through an actively managed options overlay strategy by writing call spreads on Nasdaq-100 index options that are subject to Section 1256 of the tax code. This structure means that 60% of gains are taxed at the lower long-term capital gains rate and 40% at the short-term rate, a favorable treatment compared to ordinary income distributions from traditional dividend ETFs.
The distributions themselves are predominantly classified as return of capital, which defers taxes rather than eliminating them. Investors should understand this distinction clearly: the tax bill is deferred, not erased, and it reduces an investor's cost basis over time, meaning a larger capital gain upon eventual sale. That structure is most advantageous for long-term holders in taxable accounts who benefit from the compounding effect of reinvested monthly distributions over the years.
At $56.30, with $12.19 billion in AUM and a net expense ratio of 0.68%, QQQI is best understood as a complement to, rather than a replacement for, traditional equity positions. For investors who want meaningful monthly income from a Nasdaq-100-aligned portfolio and understand the mechanics of how that income is generated, it earns its place on a 10-year hold list.
The article "5 High-Yield Stocks and ETFs to Buy and Hold for the Next Decade" first appeared on MarketBeat.
