“I buy on the assumption that they could close the market the next day and not reopen it for five years.”
— Warren Buffett
The above quote from Warren Buffett is timeless, and brings into focus the choice about time horizon that any investor should think about before buying a stock they are considering. Behind every stock is an actual business; what will that business look like over a five year period?
Today, let’s look backwards in time to 2020, and take a look at what happened to investors who asked that very question about Boston Scientific Corp. (NYSE: BSX), by taking a look at the investment outcome over a five year holding period.
| Start date: | 10/19/2020 |
|
|||
| End date: | 10/16/2025 | ||||
| Start price/share: | $37.77 | ||||
| End price/share: | $97.78 | ||||
| Starting shares: | 264.76 | ||||
| Ending shares: | 264.76 | ||||
| Dividends reinvested/share: | $0.00 | ||||
| Total return: | 158.88% | ||||
| Average annual return: | 20.98% | ||||
| Starting investment: | $10,000.00 | ||||
| Ending investment: | $25,888.96 | ||||
The above analysis shows the five year investment result worked out exceptionally well, with an annualized rate of return of 20.98%. This would have turned a $10K investment made 5 years ago into $25,888.96 today (as of 10/16/2025). On a total return basis, that’s a result of 158.88% (something to think about: how might BSX shares perform over the next 5 years?). [These numbers were computed with the Dividend Channel DRIP Returns Calculator.]
More investment wisdom to ponder:
“If you have trouble imagining a 20% loss in the stock market, you shouldn’t be in stocks.” — John Bogle
