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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

The Warren Buffett investment philosophy calls for a long-term investment horizon, where a five year holding period, or even longer, would fit right into the strategy. How would such a strategy have worked out for an investment into Netflix Inc (NASD: NFLX)? Today, we examine the outcome of a five year investment into the stock back in 2018.

Start date: 08/27/2018
$10,000

08/27/2018
  $11,159

08/24/2023
End date: 08/24/2023
Start price/share: $364.58
End price/share: $406.93
Starting shares: 27.43
Ending shares: 27.43
Dividends reinvested/share: $0.00
Total return: 11.62%
Average annual return: 2.22%
Starting investment: $10,000.00
Ending investment: $11,159.05

As we can see, the five year investment result worked out as follows, with an annualized rate of return of 2.22%. This would have turned a $10K investment made 5 years ago into $11,159.05 today (as of 08/24/2023). On a total return basis, that’s a result of 11.62% (something to think about: how might NFLX 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:
“You can’t restate a dividend.” — Malon Wilkus