“When we own portions of outstanding businesses with outstanding managements, our favorite holding period is forever.”
— Warren Buffett
A long holding period can reveal far more about an equity investment than a single year of price action. In the case of Marriott International, Inc. (NASD: MAR), the 20-year record from 2006 to 2026 illustrates how capital appreciation and dividend reinvestment can combine to produce substantial total returns.
Using a starting investment of $10,000 on 08/11/2006 and assuming dividends were reinvested, Marriott stock grew to $128,737.01 by 08/10/2026. That equates to a total return of 1,186.59% and an average annual return of 13.62%.
Marriott 20-Year Return at a Glance
| Start date: | 08/11/2006 |
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| End date: | 08/10/2026 | ||||
| Start price/share: | $33.07 | ||||
| End price/share: | $348.44 | ||||
| Starting shares: | 302.39 | ||||
| Ending shares: | 369.24 | ||||
| Dividends reinvested/share: | $19.94 | ||||
| Total return: | 1,186.59% | ||||
| Average annual return: | 13.62% | ||||
| Starting investment: | $10,000.00 | ||||
| Ending investment: | $128,737.01 | ||||
The figures above indicate that Marriott delivered a strong long-term shareholder outcome. A $10,000 investment compounded into more than $128,000 over the period, driven primarily by a large increase in the share price, with dividend reinvestment providing an additional lift. These numbers were computed with the Dividend Channel DRIP Returns Calculator.
What Drove Marriott’s Total Return?
Marriott’s total return over this period was shaped by two components:
- Share price appreciation: the stock rose from $33.07 to $348.44 per share.
- Dividends reinvested: shareholders received $19.94 per share in dividends over the period, and reinvestment increased the share count from 302.39 to 369.24.
That distinction matters. In many long-term investments, dividends contribute materially to total return even when the starting yield appears modest. Reinvestment adds shares incrementally over time, allowing future dividends and price gains to compound on a larger base.
How Important Were Dividends?
Marriott has not been a classic high-yield equity. The current annualized dividend rate of $2.92 implies a yield of approximately 0.84% based on the recent share price. Even so, dividends still played a useful role in long-term compounding.
Measured against the original purchase price of $33.07, the current annualized dividend translates to a yield on cost of 2.54%. Yield on cost does not determine current valuation, but it can be a useful way to illustrate how dividend growth affects the income profile of a long-held position.
What This 20-Year Marriott Investment Shows
This 20-year Marriott stock return underscores several core features of long-duration equity investing:
- Strong businesses can create substantial value over extended periods even when the path is uneven.
- Total return is broader than price return; dividends and reinvestment meaningfully affect the final result.
- Time in the market can outweigh short-term volatility when underlying business performance remains durable.
For Marriott, the outcome was plainly favorable. The stock generated a return profile that would leave a 2006 buyer with a markedly larger capital base by 2026, despite the cyclical nature of travel and lodging.
“Never test the depth of a river with both feet.” — Warren Buffett
