AI Is Bad at Snacks
One way to think about it is that each of PE and VC has a powerful general-purpose technology that it can apply indiscriminately to every company. PE's magic technology is leverage: You buy the local plumber or pest control company or medical practice, you put a lot of non-recourse debt on it, you get a lot of upside if it does well and limited downside if it does poorly. VC's magic technology is artificial intelligence: You buy the local plumber or pest control company or medical practice, you replace the customer-service reps and bookkeepers with AI agents, you cut costs and improve profits, and eventually you also replace the plumbers and exterminators and doctors with AI and then you really start to make money. Here's a Financial Times story about AI rollups:
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Big Yields, Big Companies, Big Investment Opportunities
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However, Prologis' yield is near the high end of its yield range over the past decade. That makes this REIT highly attractive, given the relatively rapid pace of dividend growth it has achieved. Prologis is the largest industrial REIT, with a global portfolio of warehouses located in most of the vital distribution hubs of the world. The tariff issues swirling in the news have investors worried and downbeat on Prologis' stock, even though the business continues to perform fairly well. For example, adjusted funds from operations grew 10% year over year in the first quarter of 2025. The average annualized dividend increase over the past decade was over 10%. If you don't mind buying while other investors are selling, Prologis is a giant industrial REIT that looks like it is on sale. You'll need to go in with the belief that the tariff issues in play today will work themselves out over time. But given the interconnectedness of global trade, that seems like a reasonable conclusion. Like Prologis, Realty Income is the largest REIT in its niche. In this case, that niche is net lease. Realty Income's 5.6% yield is well above both the market's and the average REIT's. It also happens to be toward the high end of Realty Income's yield range over the past decade, suggesting that now is a good time to buy this giant dividend stock. Realty Income largely owns single-tenant properties across the U.S. and European markets. The tenants are responsible for most property-level costs (which is what a net lease requires of the tenant). Realty Income is heavily focused on retail assets, which tend to be easy to buy, sell, and release if needed. But it also has exposure to industrial properties and an increasing collection of "other" assets, like vineyards and casinos. In addition to these physical assets, Realty Income has started to make debt investments and to offer its investment services to institutional investors. Basically, it has been steadily increasing the levers it has to pull as it looks to keep growing. This is important because Realty Income is so large that it requires a lot to move the needle on the top and bottom lines. That's the bad news. The good news is that its scale and conservative culture make it a highly reliable dividend stock. On that score, the dividend has been increased annually for three decades and counting. If you don't mind collecting a lofty yield supported by an industry-leading company and slow and steady dividend growth (think low to mid-single digits), you might want to buy Realty Income today. Simon Property Group owns enclosed malls and factory outlet centers. Although most of its assets are in the U.S. market, it has a material number of factory outlet centers that are located overseas. Its portfolio tends to be focused on high-performing retail properties that have leading positions in the regions they service. 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Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $692,914!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $963,866!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,049% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 179% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 30, 2025 Reuben Gregg Brewer has positions in Realty Income and Simon Property Group. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Prologis, Realty Income, and Simon Property Group. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $90 calls on Prologis. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 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Astrana Health completes acquisition of Prospect Health for $708m
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