“I buy on the assumption that they could close the market the next day and not reopen it for five 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 five year period?
Today, let’s look backwards in time to 2018, and take a look at what happened to investors who asked that very question about Dollar Tree Inc (NASD: DLTR), by taking a look at the investment outcome over a five year holding period.
Start date: | 06/04/2018 |
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End date: | 06/01/2023 | ||||
Start price/share: | $81.21 | ||||
End price/share: | $129.56 | ||||
Starting shares: | 123.14 | ||||
Ending shares: | 123.14 | ||||
Dividends reinvested/share: | $0.00 | ||||
Total return: | 59.54% | ||||
Average annual return: | 9.80% | ||||
Starting investment: | $10,000.00 | ||||
Ending investment: | $15,951.05 |
The above analysis shows the five year investment result worked out well, with an annualized rate of return of 9.80%. This would have turned a $10K investment made 5 years ago into $15,951.05 today (as of 06/01/2023). On a total return basis, that’s a result of 59.54% (something to think about: how might DLTR 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:
“In investing, what is comfortable is rarely profitable.” — Robert Arnott