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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 PG&E Corp (NYSE: PCG)? Today, we examine the outcome of a five year investment into the stock back in 2018.

Start date: 12/19/2018
$10,000

12/19/2018
  $7,292

12/18/2023
End date: 12/18/2023
Start price/share: $23.75
End price/share: $17.32
Starting shares: 421.05
Ending shares: 421.05
Dividends reinvested/share: $0.00
Total return: -27.07%
Average annual return: -6.12%
Starting investment: $10,000.00
Ending investment: $7,292.31

As shown above, the five year investment result worked out poorly, with an annualized rate of return of -6.12%. This would have turned a $10K investment made 5 years ago into $7,292.31 today (as of 12/18/2023). On a total return basis, that’s a result of -27.07% (something to think about: how might PCG 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:
“All the opportunity in the world means nothing if you don’t actually pull the trigger.” — Sam Zell