3 Dividend-Paying and/or Blue-Chip Stocks Perfect for Baby Boomers to Add to Their Portfolios — Including Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway

If you’re a Baby Boomer, you were born between 1946 and 1964, and you’re around 61 to 79 years old. According to a recent Motley Fool research report on stock ownership, Boomers are by far more likely to own stocks.

If you’re seeking more stocks for your portfolio, you might want to skip high-flying growth stocks in favor of more dependable dividend-paying stocks and blue-chip stocks. (Growth stocks can be great, even for older investors, but some can be very overvalued and more volatile, especially in a market pullback.)

Here’s a look at several that you might want to learn more about — to see if they’d be good fits for your long-term portfolio.

1. Berkshire Hathaway

Let’s start with Warren Buffett’s company, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A +1.14%) (BRK.B +1.20%). It’s not a dividend payer now, but it’s among the bluest of blue-chip stocks. And with 95-year-old Buffett stepping down at the end of the year, incoming CEO Greg Abel may well institute a dividend. (The company’s third-quarter report revealed a cash hoard that has reached $382 billion.)

The company’s future looks bright as it encompasses dozens of wholly owned subsidiaries such as GEICO, Benjamin Moore, Dairy Queen, McLane, and the entire BNSF railroad, along with sizable chunks of other companies, such as Occidental Petroleum, American Express, Coca-Cola, and Bank of America.

With a recent forward-looking price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 21.8 a bit below the five-year average of 21.2, the stock seems slightly undervalued. It might get more undervalued if the stock retreats in the new year as Buffett steps back, but that’s not guaranteed, and the new CEO is a talented Berkshire long-timer.

2. Waste Management

WM (WM +1.15%) — until recently known as Waste Management — seems perfect for most investors, and especially older ones. That’s because its business is in little danger of being affected by tariffs, a recession, or other disturbances. It specializes in trash collection and recycling, which will always be needed.

Over the past 15 years, it has averaged annual gains of 13.2% — and over the past 10 years, it has averaged more than 15%. It took me a long time to become a shareholder because the stock always seemed overvalued — while it kept rising. Recently, though, it appears undervalued, with a recent forward P/E ratio of 23.5, below the five-year average of 27.4.

Its dividend yield was recently 1.65%, which might not seem huge, but note that it’s been growing — from a total annual payout of $1.86 per share in 2018 to $2.60 in 2022 to a recent $3.23. Waste Management offers both growth and income.

3. Realty Income

Realty Income (O +0.96%) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) — a company that owns lots of real estate, charging its tenants rent. REITs are required to pay out at least 90% of their taxable earnings as dividends, making many of them appealing dividend payers. Realty Income’s dividend yield was recently 5.6% — and unlike most dividend stocks, it pays its dividend on a monthly basis.

It’s rather dependable, too, having paid its dividend for 664 months in a row (that’s 55 years!) and increased that payout for 112 consecutive quarters.

Realty Income’s business model is a thing of beauty, widely employing “triple-net leases,” which has the lessee on the hook for covering real estate taxes, property insurance, and operating expenses. This is a good deal for both the tenant and Realty Income, and in exchange for this arrangement, its leases tend to feature tiny annual rent increases, often around 1%.

The company’s portfolio of properties, as of early November, 2025, featured about 15,500 properties in all 50 U.S. states, the U.K., and seven other countries in Europe — with a 98.7% occupancy rate. Its 1,600-plus tenants include names such as 7-Eleven, Chipotle Mexican Grill, and Lowe’s.

Take a closer look at any of these companies that interest you, and perhaps consider one or more dividend-focused ETFs, as well.