Strong dividends have always been one of the ASX's big calling cards, so it might surprise you to learn that Australian dividends actually shrank 6.7% to $63.5 billion in 2025, according to the Capital Group Global Equity Study.

Now reporting season has thrown up some solid dividend results from Telstra, Woolworths, BHP and Evolution Mining to name a few, and our biggest income stocks - namely the banks and miners - are delivering strong returns.

So will 2026 be a return to form for Aussie income stocks, and which are the companies that should be top of your radar?

In this episode of Buy Hold Sell, Peter Gardner from Plato Asset Management and Sean Roger from Perpetual join Livewire's Chris Conway to give their ratings on some of the most-tipped income stocks for 2026 from our readers and share a pick of their own.