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“Only buy something that you’d be perfectly happy to hold if the market shut down for 10 years.”

— Warren Buffett

The above quote from Warren Buffett is timeless, and brings into focus the choice about time horizon that any investor should think about before buying a stock they are considering. Behind every stock is an actual business; what will that business look like over a decade-long period?

Today, let’s look backwards in time to 2009, and take a look at what happened to investors who asked that very question about Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASD: REGN), by taking a look at the investment outcome over a decade-long holding period.

Start date: 04/20/2009
$10,000

04/20/2009
$268,229

04/17/2019
End date: 04/17/2019
Start price/share: $12.79
End price/share: $342.97
Starting shares: 781.86
Ending shares: 781.86
Dividends reinvested/share: $0.00
Total return: 2,581.55%
Average annual return: 38.96%
Starting investment: $10,000.00
Ending investment: $268,229.52

As we can see, the decade-long investment result worked out exceptionally well, with an annualized rate of return of 38.96%. This would have turned a $10K investment made 10 years ago into $268,229.52 today (as of 04/17/2019). On a total return basis, that’s a result of 2,581.55% (something to think about: how might REGN shares perform over the next 10 years?). [These numbers were computed with the Dividend Channel DRIP Returns Calculator.]

Another great investment quote to think about:
“In the long run, we are all dead.” — John Maynard Keynes