“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 DaVita Inc (NYSE: DVA) back in 2006, bought the stock, ignored the market’s ups and downs, and simply held through to today.
| Start date: | 01/09/2006 |
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| End date: | 01/07/2026 | ||||
| Start price/share: | $27.33 | ||||
| End price/share: | $111.01 | ||||
| Starting shares: | 365.90 | ||||
| Ending shares: | 365.90 | ||||
| Dividends reinvested/share: | $0.00 | ||||
| Total return: | 306.18% | ||||
| Average annual return: | 7.26% | ||||
| Starting investment: | $10,000.00 | ||||
| Ending investment: | $40,644.90 | ||||
The above analysis shows the two-decade investment result worked out well, with an annualized rate of return of 7.26%. This would have turned a $10K investment made 20 years ago into $40,644.90 today (as of 01/07/2026). On a total return basis, that’s a result of 306.18% (something to think about: how might DVA shares perform over the next 20 years?). [These numbers were computed with the Dividend Channel DRIP Returns Calculator.]
One more piece of investment wisdom to leave you with:
“You can’t be a good value investor without being an independent thinker; you’re seeing valuations that the market is not appreciating. But it’s critical that you understand why the market isn’t seeing the value you do.” — Joel Greenblatt
