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“Only buy something that you’d be perfectly happy to hold if the market shut down for 10 years.”

— Warren Buffett

The above quote from Warren Buffett is timeless, and brings into focus the choice about time horizon that any investor should think about before buying a stock they are considering. Behind every stock is an actual business; what will that business look like over a ten year period?

Today, let’s look backwards in time to 2012, and take a look at what happened to investors who asked that very question about Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc (NYSE: CMG), by taking a look at the investment outcome over a ten year holding period.

Start date: 12/06/2012
$10,000

12/06/2012
  $58,918

12/05/2022
End date: 12/05/2022
Start price/share: $266.51
End price/share: $1,570.61
Starting shares: 37.52
Ending shares: 37.52
Dividends reinvested/share: $0.00
Total return: 489.32%
Average annual return: 19.40%
Starting investment: $10,000.00
Ending investment: $58,918.85

As shown above, the ten year investment result worked out exceptionally well, with an annualized rate of return of 19.40%. This would have turned a $10K investment made 10 years ago into $58,918.85 today (as of 12/05/2022). On a total return basis, that’s a result of 489.32% (something to think about: how might CMG shares perform over the next 10 years?). [These numbers were computed with the Dividend Channel DRIP Returns Calculator.]

Here’s one more great investment quote before you go:
“Investors should purchase stocks like they purchase groceries, not like they purchase perfume.” — Benjamin Graham