“I buy on the assumption that they could close the market the next day and not reopen it for five 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 five year holding period possibly?
Suppose a “buy-and-hold” investor was considering an investment into lululemon athletica inc (NASD: LULU) back in 2019: back then, such an investor may have been pondering this very same question. Had they answered “yes” to a full five year investment time horizon and then actually held for these past 5 years, here’s how that investment would have turned out.
Start date: | 09/03/2019 |
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End date: | 08/30/2024 | ||||
Start price/share: | $179.54 | ||||
End price/share: | $259.47 | ||||
Starting shares: | 55.70 | ||||
Ending shares: | 55.70 | ||||
Dividends reinvested/share: | $0.00 | ||||
Total return: | 44.52% | ||||
Average annual return: | 7.65% | ||||
Starting investment: | $10,000.00 | ||||
Ending investment: | $14,450.90 |
The above analysis shows the five year investment result worked out well, with an annualized rate of return of 7.65%. This would have turned a $10K investment made 5 years ago into $14,450.90 today (as of 08/30/2024). On a total return basis, that’s a result of 44.52% (something to think about: how might LULU 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:
“It is remarkable how much long-term advantage people like us have gotten by trying to be consistently not stupid, instead of trying to be very intelligent.” — Charlie Munger