Buy Hold Sell: The 6 income stocks readers love, plus 2 expert ideas

A high dividend yield can be a gift. Or it can be a trap. Conversely, a low yield can look underwhelming today but become a blessing tomorrow.

To kick off Livewire's Income Series, we asked readers to nominate their favourite income stocks and investments. More than 2,700 investors responded, producing a list that blended blue-chip stalwarts with a few under-the-radar surprises.

The results included household names such as BHP, Commonwealth Bank, Telstra and Washington H. Soul Pattinson, alongside a handful of small-but-mighty dividend payers that punched well above their weight.

In this episode of Buy Hold Sell, Jun Bei Liu and James Gerrish run the ruler over six reader-voted income favourites and tackle one of the biggest questions facing investors today: is it better to chase the highest yield, or focus on businesses capable of growing their earnings, dividends and capital value over time?

Along the way, they reveal two income ideas of their own, including a high-yield property trust and a financial stock benefiting from Australia's ageing population and growing demand for retirement income solutions.

This episode was filmed Wednesday 10th June, 2026.

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Edited transcript

BHP (ASX: BHP)

Matthew Kidman: To kick things off, let's start with one of the most popular stocks from our reader survey. BHP is yielding around 3% at the moment and has had a very good rally. Buy, hold or sell?

James Gerrish (HOLD): It's had a very good rally. It's a hold for me at these levels. I'd be a buyer back in the mid-$50 range, so that's not far off.

At about a 3% yield, it's not that compelling from an income perspective, but it does have a lot of growth in the years ahead. They're pivoting to future-facing commodities, namely copper.

Every way I look at it, the supply-demand dynamics in copper look strong. Supply is not going to keep pace with demand and obviously the AI-driven demand for copper is significant.

I think BHP is going to benefit on the back of that. We own it - it's the largest position across our portfolio - but if I'm adding to it, I'm buying the higher lows in the share price. It's definitely one to own for the next few years.

Jun Bei Liu (BUY): We hold it, but I would put this as a buy. You might be able to buy it a little bit cheaper if we get some market volatility, but whichever way you look at it, the earnings are going to grow quite reasonably. That's good for the dividend.

The yield right now looks a little bit lower compared to history, but historically BHP was very, very cheap because it was primarily an iron ore business. Now a big part of this business is copper.

When we look at what's happening with copper supply, the next 12 to 18 months are expected to be very tight. Copper prices should continue to track higher.

The conflict in Iran has created supply issues for a range of commodities and copper is one of them.

Then if we look at the newer angle, which is AI investment and hyperscaler spending on data centres, whichever way you look at it, you need copper. You need copper to electrify the economy. You need copper for electric vehicles and everything else. There's a lot of demand coming. This is the world's largest copper company and I think it's a great place to be. I'd be buying it.

Commonwealth Bank (ASX: CBA)

Matthew Kidman: Let's stick with you, Jun Bei. It's the most expensive of the major banks and probably offers the lowest yield, but readers still like it. Commonwealth Bank. Buy, hold or sell?

Jun Bei Liu (HOLD): It's a hold for me. I still think it's the best domestic bank in Australia. The yield is a bit too low for income investors and the stock is expensive, but this company invested ahead of its peers for many years.

I think AI is going to drive a lot of cost efficiencies and we haven't really seen that flow through in Australia yet. The next 12 months could be the beginning of it.

The economy is becoming tougher and revenue growth may be a little flatter, particularly with some of the budget changes, but I think Commonwealth Bank is well ahead of its peers and there is still a lot more to come on the cost side.

James Gerrish (SELL): I'll put it on a sell. People don't often go out and call Commonwealth Bank a sell, but when I look at it from an income perspective, there are better opportunities elsewhere.

A yield of a little over 3% would be fine if it was growing strongly, but I don't think it's going to grow much over the next couple of years.

Jun Bei made a really good point about AI efficiencies. Banks are high-volume, low-margin businesses and they're exactly the type of companies that can benefit from automation and technology. Commonwealth Bank is in the box seat because it has already invested heavily in its systems.

But when I think about stocks to buy for income, there are other businesses offering a higher yield today. For me, it's a sell.

Telstra (ASX: TLS)

Matthew Kidman: Let's move to a slightly higher yield. Telstra is yielding around 4% at the moment. Buy, hold or sell?

James Gerrish (HOLD): It's a hold for me. I hate sitting on the fence, but it's trading a little above $5 at the moment. If it was back in the high $4 range, it would probably be a buy.

If you look at the revenue growth profile over the next few years, it's growing revenue at around 1-2% and earnings at mid-single digits. The yield should grow at a similar pace. It's okay.

It's a really defensive earnings stream, but I think competition is coming through from things like satellites and how that could change the telecommunications landscape over time.

For me, it's more a case of asking whether I need to be there. I don't own it and I'm not going to buy it unless it's back in the mid-$4 range.

Jun Bei Liu (SELL): I'm probably on the other side. I think it's a sell. The company is fine. It's very defensive and the 4% yield is okay. But when I look at the multiple you're paying for a very low-growth business like Telstra, it's expensive. You're paying close to 25 times earnings for a defensive stock.

Once markets normalise and we're not focused on geopolitical issues and conflict, I think investors will look more closely at valuation.

The longer-term threats from Starlink and other satellite technologies are real. Telstra is already selling some of those services in regional areas, but I think investors need to pay attention to how the industry could evolve. It's not necessarily an earnings issue today. It's the multiple that could shrink quite quickly. For me, it's a sell.

Washington H. Soul Pattinson (ASX: SOL)

Matthew Kidman: Let's move to Washington H. Soul Pattinson. It's increased its dividend for 27 consecutive years. The yield is only around 3%, but investors know that dividend keeps growing. Buy, hold or sell?

Jun Bei Liu (BUY): It's a buy. I think it's quite an amazing business and a very unique business on the Australian market. It gives you access to lots of different asset classes and invests much like a family office.

The yield itself doesn't look particularly high, but it's a steadily growing yield. They construct their portfolio in a way that a family office would and I think that gives investors a unique opportunity.

They've got great people in the business and on the board. We know the quality of the management team and the experience around the table. We're backing the people and we're backing the strategy. For me, it's a buy.

James Gerrish (BUY): It's a buy for me and we do own it. It's been a big 12 months for Soul Pattinson. Obviously, they've merged Brickworks into the group and they've evolved the way they invest within the portfolio.

They're now allocating more capital towards real assets, private credit, emerging companies and international opportunities.

This conversation is about income and normally a 3% yield isn't that exciting. But the yield is growing year after year and we have a high degree of confidence that it will continue to grow.

That's an important lesson for investors. If you can buy a stock with a lower yield today that consistently grows its earnings and dividends, in three or four years' time you can end up with a much better income stream than buying a stock that simply screens well on yield today.

I really like the transition they've made over the past 12 months. They're well capitalised and they've got more flexibility to move the portfolio around than they had previously. For me, it's a buy.

Dalrymple Bay Infrastructure (ASX: DBI)

Matthew Kidman: Let's move to one of the less obvious names from the survey. Dalrymple Bay Infrastructure. It owns critical coal export infrastructure and yields around 5%. Buy, hold or sell?

James Gerrish (BUY): These are exactly the sorts of stocks I love for income. Dalrymple Bay is a buy and we own it. We've owned it for a number of years.

It's a critical piece of infrastructure with take-or-pay contracts that continue to ratchet higher each year. The company recently upgraded guidance for FY26 and distributions are expected to increase by around 8.5% for the year. Those are really good numbers. That's strong growth in earnings and distributions.

At the end of the day, it's all about volumes moving through the port. Whether customers utilise their full capacity or not, they're still paying for access.

I know there's a lot of concern about coal volumes, but coal coming out of the Bowen Basin is going to continue for many years to come and Dalrymple Bay will remain a beneficiary of that. For me, it's a buy.

Jun Bei Liu (BUY): It's a buy. James is absolutely right. This is a small company that many investors haven't paid much attention to.

Not that long ago it was yielding around 7%. It's now back to about 5%, but one of the key things with yield stocks is that you need earnings growth. Otherwise, they can become value traps and destroy capital. Dalrymple Bay actually has very good earnings growth.

It's benefiting from what's happening in coal markets and through port volumes, but management has also refinanced some expensive debt, which is helping drive earnings growth as well.

For the next couple of years you're looking at high single-digit earnings growth. That's very unusual for a yield stock. Normally they're low-growth businesses. For me, it's a buy and I think it's only just starting to attract investors' attention.

Dicker Data (ASX: DDR)

Matthew Kidman: Let's finish the reader picks with Dicker Data. Buy, hold or sell?

Jun Bei Liu (HOLD): It's a hold for me. I've always struggled a little bit to understand why this business performs so well given its position in the value chain.

That said, I really like the founder and major shareholder. They've remained committed to paying dividends and growing those dividends over time, even though some years are stronger than others.

My concern is around the longer-term impact of AI and how the industry evolves. I'm not yet convinced about the sustainability of the business model and its ability to continue growing dividends from here. For now, it's a hold.

James Gerrish (HOLD): It's also a hold for me. The stock has run pretty hard over the past couple of months.

Last month the company delivered a really strong update. The IT refresh cycle across small and medium-sized businesses has been stronger than expected and that has flowed through to revenue growth. The company has significantly outperformed market expectations and our expectations.

The concern for me is whether some of that demand has simply been pulled forward. Businesses have gone out and bought new computers and upgraded equipment earlier than they otherwise would have.

Earnings growth has been very strong and costs have remained relatively flat, which has helped margins expand.

The question is how much of that revenue would have naturally arrived in future periods. That's why I'm not buying it today, but I'm not selling it either. For me, it's a hold.

GUEST PICKS

James' pick: Charter Hall Long WALE REIT (ASX: CLW)

Matthew Kidman: Time for the guest picks. James, what's your favourite income idea right now?

James Gerrish: Charter Hall Long WALE REIT is my pick. I like it for three reasons. First, it's yielding around 7.25% unfranked today.

Second, it has some of the best tenants you could ask for. More than 50% of its leases have rent reviews linked to CPI, which provides built-in rental growth.

Third, the stock has been smashed by higher bond yields. Since late 2025, bond yields have moved materially higher and property stocks have been under pressure as a result.

The stock is down around 25% from its highs. If our macro view is correct and the market is currently too hawkish on interest rates, bond yields should come down and this stock should benefit. At these levels, with a yield above 7%, I think it's a buy for income investors.

Jun Bei's pick: Challenger (ASX: CGF)

Matthew Kidman: Jun Bei, can you top a 7% yield?

Jun Bei Liu: My pick is Challenger. It's a little bit of dividend and a little bit of capital growth.

Challenger is one of Australia's leading retirement income providers and demand for its products continues to grow. Every investor out there is seeking income and Challenger sits right in the middle of that trend.

The yield is only around 3.5%, so it's not particularly high. However, from 1 July there are regulatory changes that will allow the company to hold less capital against some investments.

That means it can potentially do more buybacks, pay more special dividends and improve returns on equity.

The company is entering a golden period. The tailwinds are phenomenal. You've got an ageing population, growing demand for retirement income products and regulatory support.

The stock is also reasonably priced. It's trading around 13 times earnings, which compares favourably with something like Commonwealth Bank on around 25 times earnings. It's got growth, it's got income and I think it's a very attractive opportunity.