“I buy on the assumption that they could close the market the next day and not reopen it for five years.”
— Warren Buffett
The Warren Buffett investment philosophy calls for a long-term investment horizon, where a five-year holding period, or even longer, would fit right into the strategy. Long-term ownership is particularly relevant for high-quality, moat-like businesses—the kind of durable franchises Buffett has historically favored.
Edwards Lifesciences Corp (NYSE: EW) is widely regarded as a high-quality medical technology company, best known as a global leader in heart valve therapies, including transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) systems, and in critical care monitoring products. The company operates in structurally growing markets supported by aging demographics, rising prevalence of cardiovascular disease, and continued innovation in minimally invasive procedures.
But how would a disciplined, five-year buy-and-hold approach have worked out for an investor who committed capital to Edwards Lifesciences back in 2021? Below, we evaluate the outcome of a hypothetical $10,000 investment held for five years without dividends (Edwards Lifesciences has historically not paid a regular cash dividend, choosing instead to reinvest in R&D and return capital via share repurchases).
| Start date: | 03/24/2021 |
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| End date: | 03/23/2026 | ||||
| Start price/share: | $80.21 | ||||
| End price/share: | $82.02 | ||||
| Starting shares: | 124.67 | ||||
| Ending shares: | 124.67 | ||||
| Dividends reinvested/share: | $0.00 | ||||
| Total return: | 2.26% | ||||
| Average annual return: | 0.45% | ||||
| Starting investment: | $10,000.00 | ||||
| Ending investment: | $10,227.03 | ||||
As shown above, the five-year investment result worked out as follows, with an annualized rate of return of 0.45%. This would have turned a $10K investment made five years ago into $10,227.03 today (as of 03/23/2026). On a total return basis, that is a result of 2.26%, modestly positive in nominal terms but meaningfully below broad U.S. equity market performance and below inflation over the same period.
Because Edwards Lifesciences does not pay a dividend, the entire return profile for this five-year span is a function of price appreciation alone. For investors who prioritize growing income streams, this is an important distinction versus many large-cap healthcare peers that combine earnings growth with regular cash distributions.
Context: A High-Quality Growth Franchise With A Flat Five-Year Outcome
Over the last decade, Edwards Lifesciences has generally been perceived as a long-term growth compounder. The company has:
- Dominant share in the transcatheter aortic valve replacement market, a category it helped pioneer.
- Exposure to secular demographic tailwinds as populations age and cardiovascular procedures increase.
- A history of robust investment in research and development, supporting a pipeline in structural heart therapies and critical care.
Yet even high-quality franchises can go through extended periods of valuation compression, slower procedure volumes, or changing investor sentiment. The 2021‑2026 window included:
- COVID-related volatility in procedure volumes and hospital capacity utilization.
- Rising interest rates and a market-wide de-rating of longer-duration growth assets, including many medtech names.
- Periods of concern over competitive dynamics in TAVR and the pace of adoption for newer structural heart indications.
For long-term shareholders, the subdued five-year outcome underscores that purchasing a quality business at an elevated multiple can materially dampen subsequent returns, even when underlying fundamentals remain sound.
Comparing EW To The Broader Market Over 2021‑2026
From late March 2021 through March 2026, major U.S. equity indices logged significantly higher total returns than Edwards Lifesciences. While exact comparative figures depend on the chosen index and calculation reference points, broad benchmarks such as the S&P 500 delivered double-digit cumulative gains over that period, driven by strength in large-cap technology, communication services, and resilient consumer and healthcare names.
Against that backdrop, EW’s 2.26% total return meaningfully underperformed passive exposure to diversified U.S. equities. From an opportunity-cost perspective, investors who concentrated capital in EW instead of a broad index ETF experienced a material performance shortfall over this particular five-year window.
What The Numbers Suggest About Entry Price And Expectations
Edwards Lifesciences has, for much of the past decade, traded at a premium valuation relative to the broader market and to many large-cap healthcare peers, reflecting:
- Above-market revenue and earnings growth expectations.
- High returns on invested capital and a capital-light, innovation-driven business model.
- Perceived durability of competitive advantages in key product categories.
When expectations are high and the starting valuation multiple is elevated, even solid execution can be insufficient to drive strong shareholder returns if growth merely meets, rather than exceeds, consensus forecasts. The 0.45% annualized return over this period is consistent with a scenario in which the stock’s multiple compressed, offsetting much of the benefit of underlying earnings growth.
For investors applying a Buffett-inspired framework, this case study illustrates two important principles:
- Business quality and growth prospects matter, but the price you pay still heavily influences long-run returns.
- Even industry leaders can deliver lackluster results over multi-year stretches, reinforcing the importance of diversification and valuation discipline.
Risk, Volatility, And The Investor Experience
The smooth-looking 2.26% total return figure conceals what was likely a more volatile path for shareholders. During the 2021‑2026 period, EW shares experienced:
- Drawdowns as investors rotated between growth and value styles in response to rising interest rates.
- Quarterly swings tied to procedure volumes, guidance revisions, and competition headlines.
- Re-ratings around macroeconomic uncertainty and sector-level risk appetite.
For investors aligning with Buffett’s guidance to be comfortable if the market “closed for five years,” the behavioral challenge is to remain focused on long-term intrinsic value rather than short-term price movements. However, the EW example shows that patience alone does not guarantee outsized returns; the combination of business quality, growth durability, and entry valuation all remain critical.
Looking Ahead: Questions For The Next Five Years
The historical performance outlined above is, by definition, backward-looking and does not predict how Edwards Lifesciences shares will perform in the future. Nonetheless, investors evaluating EW from here may reasonably focus on several forward-looking considerations:
- Growth trajectory in structural heart: The pace of adoption for TAVR in intermediate- and lower-risk patients, and expansion into new valve and repair indications.
- Innovation and pipeline execution: Clinical trial outcomes, regulatory approvals, and competitive positioning of next-generation devices.
- Competitive landscape: Intensifying rivalry from other large medtech companies in transcatheter valves and structural heart interventions.
- Capital allocation: Balance between organic investment, share repurchases, and any potential shift in policy toward dividends.
- Valuation and expectations: Whether current market pricing embeds conservative, reasonable, or optimistic growth assumptions relative to management’s long-term outlook.
Ultimately, the modest 2.26% total return over the past five years is a reminder that even strong franchises can deliver benchmark-lagging results when purchased at demanding valuations or during periods of multiple compression. For long-term, fundamentals-focused investors, the key question is not only whether Edwards Lifesciences remains a high-quality business, but whether today’s entry price offers a margin of safety commensurate with its growth and competitive risks.
[These numbers were computed with the Dividend Channel DRIP Returns Calculator.]
More investment wisdom to ponder:
“When everyone is going right, look left.” — Sam Zell
