“Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”
— Warren Buffett
Long-term stock returns are ultimately a function of business performance, valuation, and capital allocation. Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. (NYSE: EXPD) provides a useful case study in how those forces can compound over time. Looking back to 2006, a buy-and-hold investment in EXPD over the subsequent 20 years delivered a solid positive outcome, with dividends reinvested contributing meaningfully to total return.
Expeditors International is a global logistics and freight forwarding company. Businesses in this segment are closely tied to global trade volumes, shipping activity, air and ocean freight demand, and supply-chain complexity. That makes long holding periods especially instructive: they capture not only expansion phases, but also freight slowdowns, recessions, and periods of operational normalization.
EXPD 20-Year Return Details
| Start date: | 06/05/2006 |
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| End date: | 06/03/2026 | ||||
| Start price/share: | $49.89 | ||||
| End price/share: | $158.70 | ||||
| Starting shares: | 200.44 | ||||
| Ending shares: | 254.23 | ||||
| Dividends reinvested/share: | $16.78 | ||||
| Total return: | 303.46% | ||||
| Average annual return: | 7.22% | ||||
| Starting investment: | $10,000.00 | ||||
| Ending investment: | $40,342.69 | ||||
Using the figures above, a $10,000 investment in Expeditors International stock on 06/05/2006 would have grown to $40,342.69 by 06/03/2026, assuming dividends were reinvested. That equates to a total return of 303.46% and an average annual return of 7.22%. [These numbers were computed with the Dividend Channel DRIP Returns Calculator.]
What Drove the 20-Year Return?
The result came from two sources: share price appreciation and cash dividends. The stock price rose from $49.89 to $158.70 over the measurement period, while dividend reinvestment increased the share count from 200.44 shares to 254.23 shares. That increase in share ownership is a reminder that even a modest starting yield can materially affect long-run compounding when distributions are consistently reinvested.
Over the 20-year period shown above, Expeditors International paid $16.78 per share in dividends. Reinvestment matters because each dividend purchase adds to future dividend entitlement and future price participation. In a long holding period, that incremental compounding can become a meaningful contributor to ending value rather than a minor supplement to price return.
Dividend Yield and Yield on Cost
Based on the most recent annualized dividend rate of $1.62 per share, EXPD has a current yield of approximately 1.02% using the ending share price of $158.70. Another useful way to frame the income stream is yield on cost, which compares the current annual dividend with the original purchase price. Using the 2006 entry price of $49.89, the current annualized dividend implies a yield on cost of about 2.04%.
Yield on cost does not measure current valuation, and it does not indicate what a new buyer can earn today. What it does illustrate is how a durable dividend stream can become more valuable to a long-term holder when the underlying company continues paying and raising cash distributions over time.
Key Takeaways From the EXPD Holding Period
- Long holding periods can smooth cyclical volatility. Freight forwarding and logistics are economically sensitive businesses, yet a full-cycle view can look very different from any single year.
- Dividend reinvestment added to share accumulation. Starting with 200.44 shares and ending with 254.23 shares shows the cumulative effect clearly.
- Total return is the more complete measure. Price appreciation alone would not fully capture the investment outcome.
- Entry price still matters. A satisfactory long-term result can coexist with periods of sharp interim volatility and valuation compression.
A Practical Reading of the Result
Was a 2006 purchase of Expeditors International worth making? On the numbers presented here, the answer is yes: the investment roughly quadrupled over 20 years with dividends reinvested. At the same time, the annualized return of 7.22% also shows that even successful long-term investments do not necessarily compound at extraordinary rates every year. The lesson is less about short-term excitement and more about disciplined ownership of a profitable business through multiple market environments.
For investors evaluating EXPD today, the historical record is most useful as a framework. It highlights the importance of business quality, capital returns, and patience, while leaving open the central forward-looking question: whether the company’s competitive position, trade exposure, margins, and dividend policy can support attractive compounding from current levels over the next 20 years.
“The investor’s chief problem, even his worst enemy, is likely to be himself.” — Benjamin Graham
