Best Dividend Stocks to Buy in 2026

Last Updated on 18th september 2026

The following five ASX dividend stocks stand out as reliable picks for investors who want consistent passive income and long-term dividend growth potential.

1. National Australia Bank Limited (ASX: NAB)

They reported solid 3Q26 performance with unaudited cash earnings of $1.83 billion which was 4% higher than 3Q25 while statutory net profit increased 9% year-on-year.

The bank also grew its core lending and deposit business as total gross loans and acceptances reached $817.4 billion which was 2% higher than March 2026 quarter while customer deposits rose to $685.4 billion with 2% quarter-on-quarter and 7% year-on-year growth supported by 2% growth in Australian business lending and a 3% rise in Business & Private Banking transaction account balances.

NAB's financial resilience is an important part of the investment case because its Level 2 CET1 ratio improved to 11.93% from 11.65% in March 2026 quarter.

The current market capitalisation is $121.43 billion and fully franked annual dividend yield is 4.36% at the time of writing which is supported by recurring banking earnings as well as loan and deposit growth.

2. Telstra Group Limited (ASX: TLS)

They reported a strong FY26 performance as cash earnings rose 11.6% year-on-year to $2.88 billion and underlying EBITDAaL surged 4.0% to $8.34 billion.

The company's core Mobile and Infrastructure businesses led this growth as Mobile income increased 3.3% to $5.44 billion and mobile service revenue rose 4.8% due to demand for digital infrastructure and a healthy sales pipeline.

Telstra has entered FY27 with clear growth initiatives under its Connected Future 30 strategy which includes faster mobile transformation and the use of AI to improve customer experience and productivity.

Company has targets of mid-single-digit cash earnings CAGR and 10% underlying ROIC by FY30 while current market capitalisation is $53.97 billion.

The current annual dividend yield is 4.33% and FY26 dividends rose 10.5% to 21 cents per share and management has explicitly targeted a sustainable and growing dividend supported by positive operating leverage.

3. Transurban Group (ASX: TCL)

In FY26, they reported a solid performance as proportional total revenue rose 6.5% to $4.05 billion while proportional operating EBITDA increased 7.5% to $3.06 billion and free cash flow grew 5.1% to $2.11 billion.

The operating EBITDA margin also improved to 75.7% from 74.9% in FY25 which will support the group’s financial performance.

Transurban’s growth outlook is backed by a $10 billion-plus opportunity pipeline which includes the proposed M2-M7 widening as well as the Logan West Upgrade and the I-95 Express Lanes Bi-directional Project while its portfolio has a weighted average concession life of 27.3 years that provides a long runway for potential growth from existing assets.

The company for FY27 has guided to a distribution of 72 cents per security which is up 4.3% from FY26 while FY26 distributions rose 6.2% to 69 cents and were 98.1% covered by free cash flow which supports the view that distributions are backed by recurring cash generation from long-dated toll-road concessions.

The current market capitalisation is $41.41 billion and annual unfranked dividend yield is 5.2% at the time of writing which is a perfect fit for dividend focused investors.

4. APA Group (ASX: APA)

They reported a strong FY26 performance as underlying EBITDA rose 8.3% to $2.18 billion from $2.02 billion in FY25 while Free Cash Flow increased 3.2% to $1.12 billion.

The underlying EBITDA margin also rose by 370 basis points to 77.9% and distribution per security increased 1.8% to 58 cents.

Inflation-linked tariff escalation supported earnings growth together with contributions from newly commissioned assets and $80 million in enterprise-wide cost reductions while APA also achieved a strong FFO/Net Debt ratio of 11.2% which remained well above its 8.5% threshold.

APA has a current market capitalisation of $14.58 billion and an annual partially franked dividend yield of 5.3% at the time of writing.

Its dividend profile is supported by long-term contracted cash flows as well as strong operating cash generation and balance-sheet capacity while the company has increased distributions for 22 consecutive years.

5. Wesfarmers Limited (ASX: WES)

They had a solid FY26 as revenue rose 3.4% to $47.27 billion while NPAT excluding significant items increased 8.3% to $2.87 billion and free cash flow grew 15.8% to $3.99 billion.

The company in FY26 also saw return on equity rise to 35.5% although operating cash flow fell 6.5% to $4.27 billion because the Group raised inventory levels to manage supply-chain and geopolitical risks.

Wesfarmers' growth outlook is supported by Bunnings' larger addressable market and omnichannel investments as well as the ramp-up of Covalent Lithium plus new store and supply-chain investments.

Current market capitalisation is $83 billion and Wesfarmers also has a strong distribution profile as its annual fully franked dividend yield was 3.58% at the time of writing while the FY26 ordinary dividend rose 7.8% to $2.22 per share.

(Source: Company Reports)