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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

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 five year holding period possibly?

Suppose a “buy-and-hold” investor was considering an investment into Adobe Inc (NASD: ADBE) back in 2018: back then, such an investor may have been pondering this very same question. Had they answered “yes” to a full five year investment time horizon and then actually held for these past 5 years, here’s how that investment would have turned out.

Start date: 02/08/2018
$10,000

02/08/2018
  $20,733

02/07/2023
End date: 02/07/2023
Start price/share: $185.16
End price/share: $383.82
Starting shares: 54.01
Ending shares: 54.01
Dividends reinvested/share: $0.00
Total return: 107.29%
Average annual return: 15.70%
Starting investment: $10,000.00
Ending investment: $20,733.22

The above analysis shows the five year investment result worked out exceptionally well, with an annualized rate of return of 15.70%. This would have turned a $10K investment made 5 years ago into $20,733.22 today (as of 02/07/2023). On a total return basis, that’s a result of 107.29% (something to think about: how might ADBE shares perform over the next 5 years?). [These numbers were computed with the Dividend Channel DRIP Returns Calculator.]

More investment wisdom to ponder:
“In the short run, the market is a voting machine but in the long run, it is a weighing machine.” — Benjamin Graham