A 2015 $10K AZO Investment Became This Today

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— Warren Buffett

Such a great quote from Warren Buffett, highlighting the importance of investment time horizon when considering making an investment. In the short run, who knows what the stock market will do? A week or two after buying any given stock, could the entire stock market fall out of bed? Quite possibly! Should that happen, how would you react? It is an excellent question to think about before hitting the buy button.

For investors who take a multi-year time horizon, the important thing is not what happens in the next week or two, but what the result will be over the long haul. Today, we look at the result investors of the year 2015 experienced, who considered an investment in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE: AZO) and decided upon a five year investment time horizon.

AZO 5-Year Return Details
Start date:	10/06/2015	$10,000 10/06/2015 $15,825 10/05/2020
End date:	10/05/2020
Start price/share:	$744.62
End price/share:	$1,178.27
Starting shares:	13.43
Ending shares:	13.43
Dividends reinvested/share:	$0.00
Total return:	58.24%
Average annual return:	9.61%
Starting investment:	$10,000.00
Ending investment:	$15,825.60

As shown above, the five year investment result worked out well, with an annualized rate of return of 9.61%. This would have turned a $10K investment made 5 years ago into $15,825.60 today (as of 10/05/2020). On a total return basis, that’s a result of 58.24% (something to think about: how might AZO shares perform over the next 5 years?). [These numbers were computed with the Dividend Channel DRIP Returns Calculator.]

Here’s one more great investment quote before you go:
“While some might mistakenly consider value investing a mechanical tool for identifying bargains, it is actually a comprehensive investment philosophy that emphasizes the need to perform in-depth fundamental analysis, pursue long-term investment results, limit risk, and resist crowd psychology.” — Seth Klarman