Here is a look at returns if you held Realty Income for the last decade. Buying 100 shares at the end of 2015 would have cost about $5,163. Since then the company raised its dividend by 41%. You would have collected $3,030 in cumulative dividends by now, which covers 59% of your initial investment. The shares would currently be worth $5,637. That brings the total return to roughly 68% when combining the price appreciation and the income.