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“Only buy something that you’d be perfectly happy to hold if the market shut down for 10 years.”

— Warren Buffett

The above quote from Warren Buffett is timeless, and brings into focus the choice about time horizon that any investor should think about before buying a stock they are considering. Behind every stock is an actual business; what will that business look like over a decade-long period?

Today, let’s look backwards in time to 2013, and take a look at what happened to investors who asked that very question about Live Nation Entertainment Inc (NYSE: LYV), by taking a look at the investment outcome over a decade-long holding period.

Start date: 05/16/2013
$10,000

05/16/2013
  $58,721

05/15/2023
End date: 05/15/2023
Start price/share: $13.69
End price/share: $80.39
Starting shares: 730.46
Ending shares: 730.46
Dividends reinvested/share: $0.00
Total return: 487.22%
Average annual return: 19.36%
Starting investment: $10,000.00
Ending investment: $58,721.71

As we can see, the decade-long investment result worked out exceptionally well, with an annualized rate of return of 19.36%. This would have turned a $10K investment made 10 years ago into $58,721.71 today (as of 05/15/2023). On a total return basis, that’s a result of 487.22% (something to think about: how might LYV shares perform over the next 10 years?). [These numbers were computed with the Dividend Channel DRIP Returns Calculator.]

Another great investment quote to think about:
“The whole secret to winning big in the stock market is not to be right all the time, but to lose the least amount possible when you’re wrong.” — William O’Neil