How A $10K O’Reilly Automotive Investment In 2010 Worked Out

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— Warren Buffett

A critical pearl of wisdom from Warren Buffett teaches us that with any potential stock investment we may make, as soon as our buy order is filled we will have a choice: to remain a co-owner of that company for the long haul, or to react to the inevitable short-term ups and downs that the stock market is famous for (sometimes sharp ups and downs).

The reality of this choice forces us to challenge our confidence in any given company we might invest into, and keep our eyes on the long-term time horizon. The market may go up and down the interim, but over a ten year holding period, will the investment succeed?

Back in 2010, investors may have been asking themselves that very question about O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. (NASD: ORLY). Let’s examine what would have happened over a ten year holding period, had you invested in ORLY shares back in 2010 and held on.

ORLY 10-Year Return Details
Start date:	04/05/2010	$10,000 04/05/2010 $72,153 04/02/2020
End date:	04/02/2020
Start price/share:	$42.07
End price/share:	$303.49
Starting shares:	237.70
Ending shares:	237.70
Dividends reinvested/share:	$0.00
Total return:	621.39%
Average annual return:	21.85%
Starting investment:	$10,000.00
Ending investment:	$72,153.16

As shown above, the ten year investment result worked out exceptionally well, with an annualized rate of return of 21.85%. This would have turned a $10K investment made 10 years ago into $72,153.16 today (as of 04/02/2020). On a total return basis, that’s a result of 621.39% (something to think about: how might ORLY shares perform over the next 10 years?). [These numbers were computed with the Dividend Channel DRIP Returns Calculator.]

More investment wisdom to ponder:
“This company looks cheap, that company looks cheap, but the overall economy could completely screw it up. The key is to wait. Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to do nothing.” — David Tepper