“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 Waters Corp. (NYSE: WAT) back in 2020: 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: | 09/29/2020 |
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| End date: | 09/26/2025 | ||||
| Start price/share: | $193.39 | ||||
| End price/share: | $291.71 | ||||
| Starting shares: | 51.71 | ||||
| Ending shares: | 51.71 | ||||
| Dividends reinvested/share: | $0.00 | ||||
| Total return: | 50.84% | ||||
| Average annual return: | 8.58% | ||||
| Starting investment: | $10,000.00 | ||||
| Ending investment: | $15,085.28 | ||||
As shown above, the five year investment result worked out well, with an annualized rate of return of 8.58%. This would have turned a $10K investment made 5 years ago into $15,085.28 today (as of 09/26/2025). On a total return basis, that’s a result of 50.84% (something to think about: how might WAT shares perform over the next 5 years?). [These numbers were computed with the Dividend Channel DRIP Returns Calculator.]
More investment wisdom to ponder:
“Generally, the greater the stigma or revulsion, the better the bargain.” — Seth Klarman
