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“I buy on the assumption that they could close the market the next day and not reopen it for five years.”

— Warren Buffett

This inspiring quote from Warren Buffett teaches us the importance of considering our investment time horizon when approaching any given investment: Could we envision ourselves holding the stock we are considering for many years? Even a five year holding period potentially?

For “buy-and-hold” investors taking a long-term view, what’s important isn’t the short-term stock market fluctuations that will inevitably occur, but what happens over the long haul. Looking back 5 years to 2016, investors considering an investment into shares of Monster Beverage Corp (NASD: MNST) may have been pondering this very question and thinking about their potential investment result over a full five year time horizon. Here’s how that would have worked out.

Start date: 10/05/2016
$10,000

10/05/2016
$18,278

10/04/2021
End date: 10/04/2021
Start price/share: $48.41
End price/share: $88.50
Starting shares: 206.57
Ending shares: 206.57
Dividends reinvested/share: $0.00
Total return: 82.81%
Average annual return: 12.82%
Starting investment: $10,000.00
Ending investment: $18,278.08

As shown above, the five year investment result worked out quite well, with an annualized rate of return of 12.82%. This would have turned a $10K investment made 5 years ago into $18,278.08 today (as of 10/04/2021). On a total return basis, that’s a result of 82.81% (something to think about: how might MNST 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:
“Your investor’s edge is not something you get from Wall Street experts. It’s something you already have. You can outperform the experts if you use your edge by investing in companies or industries you already understand.” — Peter Lynch