Need income? Maybe an extra thousand bucks a year will do the trick? Dividend stocks are your best bet. Although they're at least a bit riskier than bonds, these payments -- along with their underlying stock's prices -- are apt to grow over time, keeping up with inflation. The same can't be said of most debt-based investments.

While there are plenty of solid dividend-paying stocks to consider, beverage giant PepsiCo (PEP 1.91%) arguably deserves a spot near the top of your list of prospects. Not only has it now raised its annual payout in each of the past 53 years, newcomers will be stepping in while its forward-looking dividend yield stands at a healthy 3.8%. You'd be hard-pressed to find a better yield from a stock of this quality and caliber.

The question remains, however: How much of an investment in PepsiCo would be required to collect $1,000 worth of income over the course of the coming year? At its current quarterly payout of $1.355 per share, 185 shares would do the trick. As of Thursday's market close, that's roughly $26,360 worth of this stock.

Perspective

This number-crunching oversimplifies the matter, of course. PepsiCo is also still an equity investment, which means this stock's price will ebb and flow -- sometimes quite a bit. Shares are down nearly 30% from their 2023 peak and are still making multiyear lows, for instance, for reasons that aren't entirely clear.

It's also just good practice to diversify your dividend stocks as much as your non-dividend-paying growth stocks. While it's unlikely that this well-entrenched powerhouse of the beverage business and leader of the snack chip market (PepsiCo is also parent to chip company Frito-Lay, which owns brands like Ruffles, Doritos, and Cheetos) will slip into a situation where it couldn't continue paying its dividend, never say never.

If your portfolio needs a new dividend stock, though, this is a good one, if not one of the best all-around options.