3 Dividend-Paying Value Stocks to Buy Even if There's a Stock Market Sell-Off in 2026

High-quality, established companies that pay dividends often have stable cash flows and tend to sustain their payouts even during economic downturns. The regular income from dividends paid by quality businesses can help offset paper losses in your portfolio during a market decline, too.

It's important to focus on more than just a dividend's yield, as this can rise and fall based on share price performance and doesn't necessarily indicate the strength of the underlying business. Bear in mind, dividends are paid from cash, not just accounting profits. Ensure the company's free cash flow comfortably covers its dividend payments, as this is a more reliable indicator of a company's ability to maintain payouts.

With that note, here are three dividend-paying value stocks to buy no matter what the market does in the near future.

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1. Realty Income

Realty Income (NYSE: O) has trademarked its nickname as "The Monthly Dividend Company" and has a proven track record of declaring 666 consecutive monthly dividends along with increasing its dividend for over 30 consecutive years. The real estate investment trust (REIT) boasts a current dividend yield of approximately 5.7%, which is significantly higher than the S&P 500 average of around 1.2%.

Realty Income primarily leases properties to tenants in essential retail, such as convenience stores, dollar stores, and pharmacies. These businesses are less affected by e-commerce competition and economic downturns, ensuring stable rent collection even when consumer spending tightens.

The majority of its portfolio operates under long-term, triple-net leases, where the tenant is responsible for property taxes, insurance, and maintenance. The company consistently maintains high occupancy rates, which, at the end of the third quarter, were 98.7%.

In Q3 2025, Realty Income delivered total revenue of $1.47 billion, a 10.5% increase year-over-year. Adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) per share totaled $1.08, up from $1.05 a year ago.

AFFO is a key financial metric for REITs that refines FFO (funds from operations) to show the true, sustainable cash flow available for dividends. This metric subtracts recurring capital expenditures and adjusts for straight-line rents to give a clearer picture of a REIT's cash-generating ability and dividend safety than FFO or net income alone.

Realty Income also reported a rent recapture rate of 103.5% on released properties in Q3, indicating its robust pricing power. If you want to invest in a top REIT with a fantastic dividend that can continue rewarding investors even if the market takes a dip, Realty Income looks like a value play well worth considering.

2. Chevron

Chevron (NYSE: CVX) has increased its dividend for 38 consecutive years. Its current yield is 4.6%. Chevron's business model is diversified across several key operations. Its upstream segment is responsible for the exploration, development, and production of crude oil and natural gas, and is the main driver of Chevron's profits, although it's highly dependent on global commodity prices and production volumes.

The downstream segment focuses on refining crude oil into various products, such as gasoline, diesel fuel, and lubricants, and then marketing and distributing these products through a network of service stations and to industrial clients. Chevron manufactures and sells petrochemicals and additives that are used in a wide range of industrial and consumer products. It also has a growing business focused on lower-carbon technologies and energy transition, including renewable fuels, carbon capture, and hydrogen production.

The company expects annual oil and gas production growth of 2% to 3% through 2030, which is an estimate bolstered by key assets in the Permian Basin and the acquisition of Hess. Additionally, Chevron has proven to be a leader in leveraging artificial intelligence to optimize its operations and is developing projects to power AI data centers with natural gas paired with carbon capture technology. Chevron's sales and earnings have declined throughout 2025 due to a combination of falling global energy prices, operational setbacks, and high transaction costs.

Strategically, Chevron has closed several asset sales in Canada, Alaska, and the Republic of Congo. While part of a long-term portfolio reshaping, these divestitures contributed to flatter production growth in recent periods. The company has also implemented a major cost-cutting initiative aiming for $2 billion to $3 billion in structural savings by the end of 2026.

Chevron reported adjusted EPS of $1.85 for Q3 2025, beating analyst consensus estimates. Q3 2025 revenue was $49.73 billion, down about 2% year over year but still higher than analyst expectations. Reported net income for Q3 2025 was $3.6 billion, a 21% decrease from the same period in the prior year, primarily due to lower crude oil prices and costs associated with the Hess acquisition. However, adjusted free cash flow for Q3 2025 rose approximately 50% year over year to $7 billion.

Chevron maintains one of the strongest balance sheets in the energy sector with investment-grade credit ratings (AA- from S&P Global, Aa2 from Moody's). Long-term income investors may find this storied business proves to be a valuable addition to a profitable buy-and-hold portfolio.

3. Procter & Gamble

Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) sells essential, everyday items such as toothpaste (Crest), detergent (Tide), and diapers (Pampers), which consumers need regardless of economic conditions. Demand for these products is inelastic and ensure stable cash flow even during downturns.

The stock has historically performed better than the broader market during major downturns, including the 2008 financial crisis and the 2020 pandemic sell-off. So, it has proven its ability to act as a defensive anchor in an income investor's portfolio. Procter & Gamble has increased its dividend for a whopping 69 consecutive years and counting.

It's also paid a dividend every single year for 135 years. That dividend yield is just under 3% the time of this article. The dividend is well-covered by its robust free cash flow (it's generated about $12 billion in free cash flow over the trailing 12 months), with a healthy payout ratio (60%) that ensures its sustainability and ability to fund future increases and share buybacks.

Strong brand recognition and market share for its dozens of category-leading brands have given Procter & Gamble the ability to raise prices to manage inflation and cost pressures in recent years. Net sales for the company's fiscal year 2025 were $84.3 billion, essentially flat from a year ago, as price increases were offset by unfavorable foreign exchange impacts.

That said, net earnings for fiscal year 2025 were $16 billion, an increase of 7% from the previous fiscal year. And its Q1 2026 net sales were $22.4 billion, a 3% increase versus the prior year. For Q1 2026, net earnings were $4.8 billion, a significant 20% increase.

Procter & Gamble generated $17.8 billion in operating cash flow in fiscal 2025 and returned over $16 billion to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases. While this may not be the most exciting of value stocks, if you're looking for a tried-and-true income stock that can withstand various economic cycles, Procter & Gamble may be well worth considering.

Rachel Warren has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Chevron, Moody's, Realty Income, and S&P Global. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.