“Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”
— Warren Buffett
Investors can learn a lot from Warren Buffett, whose above quote teaches the importance of thinking about investment time horizon, and asking ourselves before buying any given stock: can we envision holding onto it for years — even a two-decade holding period possibly?
Suppose a “buy-and-hold” investor was considering an investment into AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE: AZO) back in 2002: back then, such an investor may have been pondering this very same question. Had they answered “yes” to a full two-decade investment time horizon and then actually held for these past 20 years, here’s how that investment would have turned out.
| Start date: | 01/28/2002 |
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| End date: | 01/27/2022 | ||||
| Start price/share: | $64.79 | ||||
| End price/share: | $1,907.73 | ||||
| Starting shares: | 154.34 | ||||
| Ending shares: | 154.34 | ||||
| Dividends reinvested/share: | $0.00 | ||||
| Total return: | 2,844.48% | ||||
| Average annual return: | 18.42% | ||||
| Starting investment: | $10,000.00 | ||||
| Ending investment: | $294,649.56 | ||||
The above analysis shows the two-decade investment result worked out exceptionally well, with an annualized rate of return of 18.42%. This would have turned a $10K investment made 20 years ago into $294,649.56 today (as of 01/27/2022). On a total return basis, that’s a result of 2,844.48% (something to think about: how might AZO shares perform over the next 20 years?). [These numbers were computed with the Dividend Channel DRIP Returns Calculator.]
One more investment quote to leave you with:
“There’s a virtuous cycle when people have to defend challenges to their ideas. Any gaps in thinking or analysis become clear pretty quickly when smart people ask good, logical questions.” — Joel Greenblatt
