“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 useful test of how a stock performs across multiple market conditions, especially when total return includes both share-price appreciation and reinvested dividends. For Newmont Corp (NYSE: NEM), that test produced a strong outcome. A $10,000 investment made on 09/10/2021 grew to $25,894.58 by 09/09/2026, assuming dividends were reinvested.
That result translates to a 158.91% total return and an average annual return of 20.96%. For a mining stock tied closely to gold prices, operating execution, reserve quality, and capital discipline, those figures indicate that both the underlying business and the market’s valuation of the business improved meaningfully over the period.
Newmont 5-Year Return Summary
| Start date: | 09/10/2021 |
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| End date: | 09/09/2026 | ||||
| Start price/share: | $56.99 | ||||
| End price/share: | $128.71 | ||||
| Starting shares: | 175.47 | ||||
| Ending shares: | 201.16 | ||||
| Dividends reinvested/share: | $7.13 | ||||
| Total return: | 158.91% | ||||
| Average annual return: | 20.96% | ||||
| Starting investment: | $10,000.00 | ||||
| Ending investment: | $25,894.58 | ||||
In simple terms, the position more than doubled over the period, and dividend reinvestment added to the share count along the way. The holding started with 175.47 shares and ended with 201.16 shares, showing how cash distributions can contribute to long-term compounding even when the dividend yield itself is modest.
[These numbers were computed with the Dividend Channel DRIP Returns Calculator.]
What Drove Newmont’s Total Return?
Newmont’s five-year total return came from two sources:
- Share-price appreciation: the stock rose from $56.99 to $128.71.
- Reinvested dividends: cumulative dividends of $7.13 per share increased the investor’s share count over time.
For commodity-linked equities such as Newmont, price performance often reflects a combination of underlying metal prices, operating margins, production trends, reserve replacement, project execution, and investor appetite for defensive or inflation-sensitive assets. When those factors align, total return can accelerate because income and capital appreciation reinforce one another.
How Much Did Dividends Matter?
Dividends were not the primary driver of the outcome, but they were still meaningful. Over the five-year period, Newmont paid $7.13 per share in dividends, and reinvesting those payments lifted the share count from 175.47 to 201.16. That incremental ownership matters most over longer holding periods, particularly when dividends are paid consistently and reinvested during periods of market volatility.
The calculation assumes automatic dividend reinvestment using the closing price on each ex-dividend date. That approach offers a standardized way to measure total return and is generally more informative than looking at price change alone.
Current Dividend Yield and Yield on Cost
Based on the most recent annualized dividend rate of $1.04 per share, NEM has a current yield of approximately 0.81% using the ending share price of $128.71.
Another useful metric is yield on cost, which compares the current annual dividend to the original purchase price. Using the original cost basis of $56.99 per share, the current $1.04 annualized dividend equates to a yield on cost of 1.82%.
Yield on cost does not determine present valuation, but it does help illustrate how an income stream evolves for a long-term holder. In this case, the income generated by each original dollar invested has improved, even though the stock’s current market yield remains below that level because the share price appreciated substantially.
Key Takeaways
- Starting investment: $10,000.00
- Ending value: $25,894.58
- Total return: 158.91%
- Annualized return: 20.96%
- Dividend contribution: $7.13 per share, reinvested
- Current indicated yield: 0.81%
- Yield on original cost: 1.82%
The broader lesson is that total return analysis gives a more complete view of stock performance than price movement alone. In Newmont’s case, strong appreciation did most of the work, while reinvested dividends provided an additional compounding tailwind.
“If you can follow only one bit of data, follow the earnings.” — Peter Lynch
