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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

The Warren Buffett investment philosophy calls for a long-term investment horizon, where a decade-long holding period, or even longer, would fit right into the strategy. How would such a strategy have worked out for an investment into Dollar Tree Inc (NASD: DLTR)? Today, we examine the outcome of a decade-long investment into the stock back in 2015.

Start date: 12/10/2015
$10,000

12/10/2015
  $15,385

12/09/2025
End date: 12/09/2025
Start price/share: $77.81
End price/share: $119.68
Starting shares: 128.52
Ending shares: 128.52
Dividends reinvested/share: $0.00
Total return: 53.81%
Average annual return: 4.40%
Starting investment: $10,000.00
Ending investment: $15,385.35

As shown above, the decade-long investment result worked out as follows, with an annualized rate of return of 4.40%. This would have turned a $10K investment made 10 years ago into $15,385.35 today (as of 12/09/2025). On a total return basis, that’s a result of 53.81% (something to think about: how might DLTR shares perform over the next 10 years?). [These numbers were computed with the Dividend Channel DRIP Returns Calculator.]

Here’s one more great investment quote before you go:
“Although it’s easy to forget sometimes, a share is not a lottery ticket… it’s part-ownership of a business.” — Peter Lynch