“I buy on the assumption that they could close the market the next day and not reopen it for five years.”
— 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 five year holding period for an investor who was considering Amazon.com Inc (NASD: AMZN) back in 2021, bought the stock, ignored the market’s ups and downs, and simply held through to today.
| Start date: | 02/24/2021 |
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| End date: | 02/23/2026 | ||||
| Start price/share: | $157.98 | ||||
| End price/share: | $205.27 | ||||
| Starting shares: | 63.30 | ||||
| Ending shares: | 63.30 | ||||
| Dividends reinvested/share: | $0.00 | ||||
| Total return: | 29.93% | ||||
| Average annual return: | 5.38% | ||||
| Starting investment: | $10,000.00 | ||||
| Ending investment: | $12,995.44 | ||||
As shown above, the five year investment result worked out well, with an annualized rate of return of 5.38%. This would have turned a $10K investment made 5 years ago into $12,995.44 today (as of 02/23/2026). On a total return basis, that’s a result of 29.93% (something to think about: how might AMZN shares perform over the next 5 years?). [These numbers were computed with the Dividend Channel DRIP Returns Calculator.]
One more investment quote to leave you with:
“Everyone has the brainpower to make money in stocks. Not everyone has the stomach. If you are susceptible to selling everything in a panic, you ought to avoid stocks and mutual funds altogether.” — Peter Lynch
