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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

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 decade-long holding period possibly?

Suppose a “buy-and-hold” investor was considering an investment into Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASD: TTWO) back in 2014: back then, such an investor may have been pondering this very same question. Had they answered “yes” to a full decade-long investment time horizon and then actually held for these past 10 years, here’s how that investment would have turned out.

Start date: 01/08/2014
$10,000

01/08/2014
  $88,846

01/05/2024
End date: 01/05/2024
Start price/share: $17.80
End price/share: $158.21
Starting shares: 561.80
Ending shares: 561.80
Dividends reinvested/share: $0.00
Total return: 788.82%
Average annual return: 24.42%
Starting investment: $10,000.00
Ending investment: $88,846.84

The above analysis shows the decade-long investment result worked out exceptionally well, with an annualized rate of return of 24.42%. This would have turned a $10K investment made 10 years ago into $88,846.84 today (as of 01/05/2024). On a total return basis, that’s a result of 788.82% (something to think about: how might TTWO shares perform over the next 10 years?). [These numbers were computed with the Dividend Channel DRIP Returns Calculator.]

One more investment quote to leave you with:
“Be fearful when others are greedy; be greedy when others are fearful.” — Warren Buffett