“When we own portions of outstanding businesses with outstanding managements, our favorite holding period is forever.”
— Warren Buffett
One of the most important things investors can learn from Warren Buffett, is about how they approach their time horizon for an investment into a stock under consideration. Because immediately after buying shares of a given stock, investors will then be able to check on the day-to-day (and even minute-by-minute) market value. Some days the stock market will be up, other days down. These daily fluctuations can often distract from the long-term view. Today, we look at the result of a two-decade holding period for an investor who was considering Amazon.com Inc (NASD: AMZN) back in 2005, bought the stock, ignored the market’s ups and downs, and simply held through to today.
| Start date: | 08/15/2005 |
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| End date: | 08/14/2025 | ||||
| Start price/share: | $2.25 | ||||
| End price/share: | $230.98 | ||||
| Starting shares: | 4,444.44 | ||||
| Ending shares: | 4,444.44 | ||||
| Dividends reinvested/share: | $0.00 | ||||
| Total return: | 10,165.78% | ||||
| Average annual return: | 26.04% | ||||
| Starting investment: | $10,000.00 | ||||
| Ending investment: | $1,026,288.24 | ||||
The above analysis shows the two-decade investment result worked out exceptionally well, with an annualized rate of return of 26.04%. This would have turned a $10K investment made 20 years ago into $1,026,288.24 today (as of 08/14/2025). On a total return basis, that’s a result of 10,165.78% (something to think about: how might AMZN shares perform over the next 20 years?). [These numbers were computed with the Dividend Channel DRIP Returns Calculator.]
Here’s one more great investment quote before you go:
“I rarely think the market is right. I believe non-dividend stocks aren’t much more than baseball cards. They are worth what you can convince someone to pay for it.” — Mark Cuban
