Photo credit: commons.wikimedia.org

“When we own portions of outstanding businesses with outstanding managements, our favorite holding period is forever.”

— Warren Buffett

IDEX Corporation stock delivered a strong long-term total return over the past two decades, illustrating how steady business performance and dividend reinvestment can compound meaningfully over time. A $10,000 investment in NYSE: IEX on 10/16/2006 would have grown to $97,972.73 by 10/15/2026, based on the return assumptions shown below.

IDEX is a diversified industrial company whose businesses span fluid and metering technologies, health and science technologies, and fire, safety, and other specialized engineered products. That operating profile matters in a long-horizon analysis: companies with niche market positions, recurring replacement demand, and disciplined capital allocation can produce a substantial portion of shareholder value through compounding rather than headline-grabbing growth.

IEX 20-Year Return Details

IEX 20-Year Return Details
Start date:	10/16/2006	$10,000 10/16/2006   $97,972 10/15/2026
End date:	10/15/2026
Start price/share:	$32.27
End price/share:	$236.42
Starting shares:	309.89
Ending shares:	414.45
Dividends reinvested/share:	$30.41
Total return:	879.84%
Average annual return:	12.08%
Starting investment:	$10,000.00
Ending investment:	$97,972.73

What Drove IDEX Stock’s Long-Term Return

The headline result is straightforward: the investment increased by nearly 9.8x over the 20-year holding period, with a 12.08% annualized return. That level of compounding is powerful because returns build on prior returns over long periods, especially when cash distributions are put back to work.

There were two principal contributors to the outcome:

• Share price appreciation: the stock price rose from $32.27 to $236.42.
• Dividend reinvestment: cash dividends increased the share count from 309.89 to 414.45 shares.

That second point is easy to overlook. Even with a moderate dividend yield, reinvestment steadily adds fractional shares along the way. Over long periods, those additional shares can materially lift ending value because they also participate in future price gains and future dividend payments.

The above calculations were computed with the Dividend Channel DRIP Returns Calculator, using a reinvestment framework in which dividends are reinvested at the closing price on the ex-dividend date.

The Role Of Dividends In IEX Total Return

IDEX Corporation paid a cumulative $30.41 per share in dividends during the 20-year period covered above. For a company with a relatively modest current yield, that payout history still played an important role in total return because the cash was assumed to be reinvested consistently rather than taken as income.

Based on the most recent annualized dividend rate of $2.92 per share, IEX has a current yield of approximately 1.24% using the stated end price of $236.42. Viewed through a long-term ownership lens, the same $2.92 dividend compared with the original purchase price of $32.27 implies a yield on cost of about 9.05%.

Yield on cost does not measure current valuation, and it should not be used as a substitute for forward return analysis. It is, however, a useful way to illustrate how dividend growth can improve the cash-generating profile of a successful long-held investment.

Key Takeaways From This 20-Year IEX Investment

• Total return matters more than price return alone. Reinvested dividends added to the final share count and amplified compounding.
• Time horizon can dominate short-term volatility. A 20-year holding period allows operating execution and capital allocation to show through in shareholder returns.
• Moderate-yield stocks can still produce excellent long-run outcomes. The critical variables are business quality, earnings durability, and disciplined reinvestment of cash flows.

For investors studying long-term compounders, IDEX offers a useful example of how an industrial business with specialized end markets can generate substantial shareholder wealth without relying on an unusually high dividend yield. The central lesson is not simply that the stock went up, but that patient ownership plus reinvestment turned a solid operating business into a strong total return outcome.

“Everyone has the brainpower to make money in stocks. Not everyone has the stomach. If you are susceptible to selling everything in a panic, you ought to avoid stocks and mutual funds altogether.” — Peter Lynch