Yields that look too good
Yields of 10% or more. Most are warnings, not opportunities.
A double-digit yield usually means the market expects a cut. This list is here so you can check a high-yield idea against its payout ratio and cash flow before buying it; the backtest shows how these baskets have fared.
This list exists to warn, not to recommend: most stocks on it have a dividend the market expects to be cut.
$10,000 in this list since 2016
Rebuilt every month from the data public at the time
- Per year
- +6.6%
- All stocks +9.4%, S&P 500 +13.8%
- Worst fall from a peak
- -48%
- All stocks -35%
- Months ahead of all stocks
- 49%
- 120 months tested
- Stocks held, on average
- 69
- Equal weights
- Past 12 months
- -10.5%
- All stocks +4.1%, S&P 500 +12.4%
- Volatility, per year
- 26%
- All stocks 22%
- Sharpe ratio
- 0.29
- All stocks 0.40; return over cash per unit of volatility
- Replaced each month
- 17%
- Share of the list that changes at a rebalance
Live since Oct 19, 2026. Holding the list as published, rebought at each month end: +1.4% against +2.1% for all stocks and +0.7% for the S&P 500, to Oct 30, 2026. Too short a period to read much into.
- Yields that look too good
- All US stocks, equal weight
- S&P 500 (price only)
Year by year
| Portfolio | 2016from Oct 31 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026to Oct 19 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This list | +15% | +16% | +5% | +18% | -9% | +35% | -24% | +26% | +13% | +0% | -12% |
| All US stocks | +12% | +19% |
116 stocks on the list today
As of the close on Oct 30, 2026; 4 joined and 6 left since Oct 29, 2026
| # | Company | Share price | 1D | Market cap | Yield | Payout ratio | FCF payout | 1Y | Altman Z |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1.77 | +0.57% | $157M | 829% | – | – | −89.4% | 0.77 | |
| 2 |
Left the list at the latest update
More income ideas
- Dividend growersTen or more straight years of higher dividends, still paid comfortably out of earnings.
- High yield, coveredYields of 4% or more that free cash flow covers, from companies outside the distress zone.
- Buyback cannibalsCompanies that shrank their share count by 3% or more in a year while generating free cash.
- Shareholder yieldDividends plus buybacks worth 6% or more of the market value each year, without heavy debt.
A list produced by rules, not a recommendation. Past results in the backtest don't predict future returns. How the backtests work.