A dividend yield above 5% is often enough to catch an investor’s attention.
The reason for this is obvious: regular passive income can make a meaningful difference to long-term returns.
That said, not every high-yield stock is worth buying.
There are companies that are able to sustain their dividends because of strong cash flow and business activities.
But there are some others that may find it hard to do so during tough times.
In this context, here are three Singapore stocks paying dividends exceeding 5%. Let’s take a deeper look if their dividends appear sustainable.
What Makes a Good Dividend Stock?
A generous dividend yield looks attractive on paper, but it rarely tells the full story.
Sometimes, a company’s share price falls because investors are worried about its prospects, causing the dividend yield to appear unusually high.
In practice, dividends are paid with cash, not accounting profits.
Companies that consistently generate healthy cash flow are generally in a stronger position to maintain and grow their payouts over time.
The strength of a balance sheet also plays an important role during times when the economic environment is tougher.
Companies with lower amounts of debt will often find themselves with more manoeuvring room during uncertain times without having to cut dividend payments.
ComfortDelGro (SGX: C52) – The Recovery Dividend Story
ComfortDelGro (CDG) has grown into a global land transport operator with businesses spanning multiple markets, and FY2025 marked another milestone for the group.
Revenue crossed the S$5 billion mark for the first time, rising 13.0% year on year (YoY) to S$5.06 billion, while net profit climbed 9.4% to S$230.3 million.
CDG paid a total FY2025 dividend of S$0.085 per share, up from S$0.077.
The payout represents 80% of the profits and offers a current dividend yield of 6.5%.
The challenge is whether CDG can sustain earnings growth as competition remains stiff across markets.
Keppel REIT (SGX: K71U) – The Office Income Play
Keppel REIT is one of the leading office-centric real estate investment trusts (REITs) in Singapore, with a collection of quality commercial buildings located in the Asia-Pacific.
Occupancy stood at 97.1% as of 31 March 2026, with weighted average lease expiry (WALE) at 4.4 years.
For FY2025, the REIT reported a distribution per unit (DPU) of S$0.0523, representing an annualised yield of 6%.
Aggregate leverage stood at 40.2% as at 31 March 2026, under the MAS limit of 50%, leaving the REIT with some regulatory headroom to navigate property market fluctuations.
The investment case is not without risks.
Office demand remains a key question mark, while higher interest rates could affect financing costs over time.
NetLink NBN Trust (SGX: CJLU) – The Infrastructure Income Generator
NetLink NBN Trust is responsible for managing and maintaining the fibre broadband network infrastructure that underpins Singapore’s telecommunications backbone.
The trust’s defensive business model continued to deliver steady results in FY2026.
Revenue rose 1.6% YoY to S$413.4 million.
EBITDA came in at S$282.9 million, equivalent to a margin of around 68%.
While this edged down 1.8% YoY amid higher staff, maintenance and property costs, the healthy margin still reflects the cash-generative nature of the underlying infrastructure.
In FY2026, the trust managed to increase its DPU by 1.1% to S$0.0542 owing to the company’s stable operations and strong demand for broadband connectivity.
NetLink is unlikely to be a high-growth story.
That said, investors may be comfortable trading rapid growth for the stability that comes with owning essential infrastructure.
Which Stock Looks Most Attractive?
A stock that could be attractive for its combination of income generation and earnings growth would likely be ComfortDelGro, which has been seeing increased commuter traffic and has been growing beyond Singapore’s borders.
Keppel REIT may appeal to those who prefer collecting rental income from a portfolio of premium office assets.
While the office sector faces its own challenges, the high occupancy and long lease profile provide some visibility over future cash flow.
Meanwhile, NetLink NBN Trust offers a very different proposition.
Growth is likely to be modest, but the company owns infrastructure that many households and businesses rely on every day, and that predictability is a valuable feature in itself.
A Word of Caution
Not every high yield is worth chasing.
In some cases, a yield looks attractive only because the share price has fallen sharply.
A sustainable dividend that grows over time can often outperform a higher payout that is eventually cut.
This is also why many investors spread their money across several dividend stocks rather than relying on a single source of income.
Get Smart: Don’t Chase Yield Blindly
ComfortDelGro, Keppel REIT and NetLink NBN Trust offer dividend yields above 5%, but the numbers only tell part of the story.
The key consideration is whether the businesses behind these high yields can produce sufficient cash flows to sustain them.
For long-term investors, understanding that difference may matter far more than finding the highest yield on the market.
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Disclosure: Darien C. does not own shares of any companies mentioned.
