Founded in 1984, National Retail Properties (NNN) is one of America's oldest triple net lease, or NNN, REITs. The company follows a "sale-leaseback" model in which it will buy a property from an existing tenant and then rent the property back to the former owner under long-term (15 to 20-year) contracts. The average remaining lease term is 11.4 years, and just 5% of leases expire through the end of 2020. Triple net lease contracts require the tenant to pay for insurance, maintenance, utilities, and property taxes. National Retail Properties thus serves purely as a landlord, collecting a recurring stream of rent from which it pays its steadily growing dividend. These leases also have annual rental escalators built in (about 1.5% [...]

Founded in 1919 in Richmond, Virginia, Altria (MO) is America’s largest tobacco company. The business split into three separate firms in 2007 and 2008 (Altria, Phillip Morris International, and Kraft), with Altria retaining all domestic tobacco operations. Altria has exclusive U.S. rights to sell cigarettes primarily under the Marlboro, Parliament, Virginia Slims, and Benson & Hedges brands. The company also markets cigars (Black & Mild), chewing tobacco (Copenhagen and Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands), and table wines under the Chateau Ste. Michelle, Columbia Crest, and 14 Hands brands. In recent years, Altria has invested heavily into non-combustible reduced-risk products to adapt its long-term business model for an eventually smoke-free world. One area of focus is the IQOS nicotine delivery [...]

Philip Morris International (PM) was spun off from Altria (MO) in 2008, with Altria serving the U.S. and Philip Morris owning the international rights to all of Altria’s most famous brands, including Marlboro, Merit, Parliament, Virginia Slims, L&M, Bond Street, Chesterfield, Lark, Muratti, Next, and Red & White. Philip Morris markets its cigarette brands to more than 150 million customers in over 180 countries and has close to 30% international market share (excluding China and the U.S.). That's largely due to selling Marlboro, which is the No. 1 cigarette brand in the world and accounts for approximately 35% of the company's total volumes. While traditional tobacco products still generate the vast majority of the company's profits, reduced-risk products, or RRPs, [...]

Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing, or 3M (MMM), was founded in 1902 in St. Paul, Minnesota. The global industrial conglomerate markets over 60,000products used in homes, businesses, schools, and hospitals in more than 200 countries around the world. 3M is a highly diversified company with five main business segments that cover over 45 technology platforms, ranging from adhesives and abrasives to ceramics and nanotechnology.