“I buy on the assumption that they could close the market the next day and not reopen it for five years.”
— Warren Buffett
A five-year holding period is a practical test of whether a business can translate operating performance into shareholder returns. For Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: A), that test produced a negative outcome over the most recent five-year span shown below. A $10,000 investment made on 04/23/2021, with dividends reinvested, would have declined to $9,127.17 by 04/22/2026.
That result matters because it captures total return, not just the change in the share price. It incorporates dividends and reinvestment, which is the more complete way to evaluate a buy-and-hold investment in a dividend-paying stock.
Agilent Technologies 5-Year Return Details
| Start date: | 04/23/2021 |
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| End date: | 04/22/2026 | ||||
| Start price/share: | $136.68 | ||||
| End price/share: | $120.47 | ||||
| Starting shares: | 73.16 | ||||
| Ending shares: | 75.75 | ||||
| Dividends reinvested/share: | $4.57 | ||||
| Total return: | -8.75% | ||||
| Average annual return: | -1.81% | ||||
| Starting investment: | $10,000.00 | ||||
| Ending investment: | $9,127.17 | ||||
In plain terms, the investment lost value despite the contribution from dividends. The share price fell from $136.68 to $120.47 over the period, and dividend reinvestment increased the share count from 73.16 to 75.75. Even so, the additional shares were not enough to offset the decline in the stock price, leaving the position with a total return of -8.75%, or -1.81% annualized.
[These numbers were computed with the Dividend Channel DRIP Returns Calculator.]
What Drove the Outcome
The key driver was straightforward: capital depreciation outweighed income generation. Agilent paid $4.57 per share in cumulative dividends over the five-year period, and reinvesting those payments modestly increased ownership. However, with the stock finishing below the initial purchase price, the benefit of compounding through reinvestment was limited.
This is an important distinction in dividend analysis. A dividend can cushion weak price performance, but when the starting valuation is relatively high or the stock later re-rates lower, income alone may not be enough to produce a positive total return over a medium-term holding period.
Dividend Yield and Yield on Cost
Based on the most recent annualized dividend rate of $1.02 per share, A has a current yield of approximately 0.85%. Using the original purchase price of $136.68, the current dividend rate translates into a yield on cost of about 0.62%.
Those figures help frame Agilent’s income profile. The stock has offered a relatively modest cash yield, which means the investment case has depended more heavily on earnings growth, margin resilience, capital allocation discipline, and valuation support than on dividend income alone.
Quick Takeaways
- A $10,000 investment in Agilent Technologies on 04/23/2021 grew to 75.75 shares through dividend reinvestment but declined in value to $9,127.17 by 04/22/2026.
- The five-year total return was -8.75%.
- The average annual return was -1.81%.
- Dividends provided partial support, but not enough to overcome the drop in the share price.
- With a current yield of roughly 0.85%, the stock’s return profile remains driven primarily by business performance and valuation rather than income.
For long-horizon investors, the broader lesson is that total return depends on more than dividend policy. Entry price, earnings trajectory, and the market’s willingness to pay for those earnings can matter at least as much as the cash distributions received along the way.
One more investment quote to leave you with:
“All the opportunity in the world means nothing if you don’t actually pull the trigger.” — Sam Zell
