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— Warren Buffett

Republic Services stock has delivered a strong long-term total return, illustrating how compounding can work in a durable, cash-generative business. A $10,000 investment in Republic Services Inc (NYSE: RSG) on 10/16/2006, with dividends reinvested, would have grown to $126,043.35 by 10/15/2026 based on the figures below. That equates to a cumulative total return of 1,160.04% and an average annual return of 13.50%.

The result is notable not simply because the ending value is large relative to the starting investment, but because it highlights the economics of a business model built around essential services. Waste collection, transfer, recycling, and landfill operations tend to produce recurring demand, and that steadier revenue base can support both capital returns and long-term share price appreciation.

Republic Services 20-Year Return Details

RSG 20-Year Return Details
Start date:	10/16/2006	$10,000 10/16/2006   $126,043 10/15/2026
End date:	10/15/2026
Start price/share:	$27.79
End price/share:	$229.65
Starting shares:	359.84
Ending shares:	548.68
Dividends reinvested/share:	$27.13
Total return:	1,160.04%
Average annual return:	13.50%
Starting investment:	$10,000.00
Ending investment:	$126,043.35

On these assumptions, the 20-year holding period turned a $10,000 starting position into $126,043.35. The sharp increase in ending value reflects two separate drivers: substantial share price appreciation and the incremental share accumulation that came from dividend reinvestment. These figures were computed with the Dividend Channel DRIP Returns Calculator.

What Drove the Return?

Republic Services’ long-term return profile benefits from characteristics that often matter in infrastructure-like service businesses:

• Recurring demand: Waste collection is a non-discretionary service for municipalities, businesses, and households.
• Route density and scale: Large operators can improve margins through route efficiency, asset utilization, and procurement advantages.
• Hard-to-replicate assets: Disposal networks, transfer stations, and landfill capacity can create meaningful barriers to entry.
• Pricing power over time: Contract structures and embedded service necessity can support steady revenue growth, even if not in a straight line.
• Cash return potential: Businesses with durable free cash flow can support dividends, share repurchases, and continued investment.

None of that means returns are guaranteed to be smooth. Even resilient businesses can experience valuation compression, cost inflation, regulatory shifts, acquisition integration risk, and periods when returns lag the broader market. But over extended periods, consistent operating execution can matter more than short-term sentiment.

The Role of Dividends in Republic Services Stock Returns

Dividend reinvestment made a meaningful contribution to this outcome. Over the 20-year period shown above, Republic Services paid $27.13 per share in cumulative dividends that were assumed to be reinvested. That reinvestment increased the share count from 359.84 shares to 548.68 shares, which in turn amplified the benefit of subsequent price appreciation.

This is one of the clearest examples of how total return differs from price return. Looking only at the stock’s starting and ending share price understates the value created when cash distributions are used to purchase additional shares along the way.

Current Yield and Yield on Cost

Using the most recent annualized dividend rate of $2.50 per share, RSG has a current yield of approximately 1.09% based on the ending share price of $229.65. Another useful reference point is yield on cost, which compares the current annualized dividend to the original purchase price of $27.79 per share. On that basis, the yield on cost is 3.92%.

Yield on cost is not a valuation metric, but it does help illustrate the shareholder experience over time. For long-held dividend growth stocks, a modest starting yield can become materially more meaningful if the business steadily raises its payout while the initial cost basis remains fixed.

Key Takeaways

For quick reference:

• A $10,000 investment in Republic Services stock in October 2006 grew to $126,043.35 by October 2026.
• The total return was 1,160.04%, or 13.50% annualized.
• Dividend reinvestment increased the share count from 359.84 to 548.68 shares.
• The current annualized dividend rate of $2.50 implies a current yield of about 1.09% and a yield on cost of 3.92% based on the original purchase price.

The broader lesson is straightforward: long-term wealth creation often comes from owning businesses with durable demand, disciplined capital allocation, and the ability to compound through both earnings growth and reinvested dividends. Republic Services provides a clear case study of how that process can play out over a full market cycle and beyond.

“Smart investing doesn’t consist of buying good assets but of buying assets well. This is a very, very important distinction that very, very few people understand.” — Howard Marks