<div id="readability-page-1">The Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (NYSEARCA:SCHD) has a reputation for being the go-to choice for income-focused investors who want both quality and yield. The ETF offers a 4.14% dividend yield, and this is one of the highest yields you can get with a popular ETF. It is also quite cost-effective with a low expense ratio of 0.06%. Its portfolio focuses on household names and is well-diversified, so even a stock market downturn is unlikely to cause too much pain here. <div id="keypoints"> <ul> <li> If you like the SCHD ETF, these individual stocks are worth having more exposure to. </li> <li> These stocks give you solid dividends and safety, just like the SCHD ETF. </li> <li> The dividends here are also higher than the Treasury yield. </li> <li> Are you ahead, or behind on retirement? SmartAsset’s free tool can match you with a financial advisor in minutes to help you answer that today. Each advisor has been carefully vetted, and must act in your best interests. Don’t waste another minute; get started by clicking here.(Sponsor) </li> </ul> </div> No ETF is perfect. There are individual stocks with higher yields and solid safety. These stocks aren’t going to give you the diversification, but having them in your portfolio is still worth it. Hand-picked high-yield stocks could deliver solid long-term returns as Treasury yields inevitably come down and more investors park their money in dividend stocks. <h2>Verizon Communications (VZ)</h2> The SCHD ETF holds Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ), but I think more exposure to this stock is a solid idea. If you’ve been watching the communications sector, you’re likely aware that AT&amp;T (NYSE:T) has made a stellar comeback over the past few months and has fully recovered from a multi-year selloff. Investors who bought the dip here are raking in the dough, as not only have they collected solid dividends, they’ve also been rewarded with solid upside.<img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://247wallst.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Follow-Our-500000-AI-Portfolio-3.jpg?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="468" height="120" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://247wallst.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Follow-Our-500000-AI-Portfolio-3.jpg"/> Verizon could deliver a similar upside going forward. Verizon complements the ETF’s stability with higher income potential and has a dominant position in the U.S. wireless market. This is a sturdy company that is unlikely to disappoint you at these levels. And even if it does, it’s likely to be short-term. The appeal here goes beyond just a fat dividend check, and the company is in the midst of a growth renaissance with a surge in subscriber additions. Verizon has added nearly a million new subscribers in Q4 2024. This is the best growth in five years. As a result, Verizon posted operating revenues of $134.8 billion in 2024. The wireless segment alone constituted $20 billion of that. EPS also climbed to $4.14 from $2.75 the year before. The company’s management now projects that its wireless service revenue will grow 2-2.8% this year due to more pricing power and customer upgrades. It is future-proofing its business with a pending acquisition of Frontier Communications (NASDAQ:FYBR) to boost its broadband reach and is also investing in AI and 5G. VZ currently has a 6.1% dividend yield with 20 consecutive years of dividend increases. <h2>British American Tobacco (BTI)</h2> British American Tobacco (NYSE:BTI) shouldn’t be left out of the equation, as tobacco companies have done surprisingly well to grapple with declining smoking rates. BTI stock is up 48.2% in the past year and has completely recovered from the 2022-2023 selloffs and then some. The stock is now up 13% in the past five years. It is shifting to smokeless products and aims to derive 50% of its revenue from non-combustibles by 2035. In the meantime, the financials have been solid. It reported full-year 2024 revenue of GBP 25.9 billion and net income of GBP 3.2 billion. This is now the world’s second-largest tobacco company by net sales. One thing that I like about tobacco companies now is that they come with recession resistance alongside solid dividends. For obvious reasons, these companies tend to have inelastic demand regardless of the economic climate. Tobacco is not a big portion of people’s budgets, and if anything, people will consume more, not less, during a recession. BTI stock now yields over 7%, and while the payout ratio of 62.37% also leaves room for more hikes down the line. <h2>Pfizer (PFE)</h2> Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) is a company that doesn’t have the best reputation in many circles, but many people forget that this company is not a one-trick pony. It makes more than COVID vaccines, and even though those vaccines are no longer driving recurring revenue, it has plenty of other products to offset that and keep paying solid dividends year after year. Recently, Pfizer has been in the headlines for letting go of its weight loss pill. The stock is also down 14.2%, but I’d actually use the negativity as an excuse to buy it on the dip. The dividend yield here is a stellar 7.7% right now. These dividends are unlikely to go away anytime soon, as Pfizer has hiked these dividends for 16 consecutive years. The payout ratio is also at 56.98%, so it could keep increasing dividends. The financial footing here is solid. Pfizer has reaffirmed its revenue guidance for 2025 in the range of $61 to $64 billion, with adjusted earnings per share expected to rise to $2.8 to $3. Moreover, the company posted $4 billion in net savings by the end of last year and plans to save another $500 million this year. You have a lean company that is keenly focused on driving R&amp;D productivity, with several late-stage readouts and regulatory decisions expected in 2025 that could yield the next generation of blockbuster medicines. I’d buy the dip and collect those dividends. The consensus price target implies 39% upside.The post If You Like Schwab’s SCHD, You Can’t Miss These Stocks With Even Higher Yields appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..</div>

The Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD) is favored by income-focused investors for its 4.14% yield and low expense ratio. However, individual stocks like Verizon (6.1% yield) and British American Tobacco (over 7% yield) offer even higher dividends. Verizon is experiencing growth with new subscribers and a strong wireless segment, while British American Tobacco is shifting to smokeless products and remains recession-resistant. Both stocks provide solid income potential and could enhance a portfolio focused on dividends.