“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 can clarify what actually drove returns in a stock investment: price appreciation, dividends, and the compounding effect of reinvestment. For Raymond James Financial Inc (NYSE: RJF), a $10,000 investment made in September 2021 and held through early September 2026 grew to $21,059.18 with dividends reinvested. That equates to a total return of 110.63% and an average annual return of 16.09%.
The exercise is straightforward but useful. Rather than focusing on interim market volatility, it measures the outcome of owning RJF across a full multi-year period. For a diversified financial services company such as Raymond James, total return is shaped not only by the stock’s valuation in the market, but also by the business’s ability to generate earnings, return capital, and sustain dividend growth over time.
RJF 5-Year Return Details
| Start date: | 09/07/2021 |
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| End date: | 09/03/2026 | ||||
| Start price/share: | $92.35 | ||||
| End price/share: | $181.10 | ||||
| Starting shares: | 108.28 | ||||
| Ending shares: | 116.30 | ||||
| Dividends reinvested/share: | $8.72 | ||||
| Total return: | 110.63% | ||||
| Average annual return: | 16.09% | ||||
| Starting investment: | $10,000.00 | ||||
| Ending investment: | $21,059.18 | ||||
What Drove the Raymond James Total Return?
The result reflects two distinct sources of return:
- Share price appreciation: RJF rose from $92.35 to $181.10 per share over the holding period.
- Dividend income: Investors collected $8.72 per share in dividends over the period, with the calculation assuming those cash payments were reinvested.
That distinction matters. Looking only at the stock price understates the full economic return from owning dividend-paying companies. Reinvestment added to the share count, increasing holdings from 108.28 shares to 116.30 shares. In other words, the income stream bought additional stock along the way, which then participated in further appreciation.
[These numbers were computed with the Dividend Channel DRIP Returns Calculator.]
How Dividend Reinvestment Changed the Outcome
Dividend reinvestment is often a modest contributor in any single quarter, but over several years it can materially lift ending value. In this case, reinvested dividends increased the investor’s share count by just over 8 shares relative to the original purchase. That added exposure amplified the benefit of RJF’s higher share price at the end of the period.
The underlying calculation assumes dividends are reinvested at the closing price on the ex-dividend date. That is a standard way to estimate long-term total return and allows for a cleaner comparison across dividend-paying equities.
Current Yield and Yield on Cost
Based on the most recent annualized dividend rate of $2.16 per share, RJF has a current yield of approximately 1.19%, using the $181.10 ending share price.
Another useful measure is yield on cost, which compares the current annualized dividend to the original purchase price rather than the current market price. Using the 2021 entry price of $92.35 per share, RJF’s current $2.16 annualized dividend translates to a yield on cost of about 2.34%.
That figure is meaningfully different from the current yield because the stock price appreciated substantially over the period. Yield on cost does not measure the return available to a new buyer today, but it does show how dividend income can improve relative to an investor’s original capital committed when a company raises or sustains payouts over time.
Why the Five-Year View Matters
Raymond James Financial operates across wealth management, capital markets, asset management, banking, and related financial services. For companies in this part of the market, short-term performance can be influenced by interest rates, equity market conditions, deal activity, client asset levels, and broader economic sentiment. A multi-year holding period helps smooth out some of that noise and provides a clearer view of shareholder outcomes.
Over this five-year span, the combination of capital appreciation and dividends produced a strong compounded result. The main takeaway is not simply that RJF advanced, but that total return analysis gives a more complete picture than price performance alone.
One more investment quote to leave you with:
“In the end, how your investments behave is much less important than how you behave.” — Benjamin Graham
