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“I buy on the assumption that they could close the market the next day and not reopen it for five years.”

— Warren Buffett

The Warren Buffett investment philosophy calls for a long-term investment horizon, where a five year holding period, or even longer, would fit right into the strategy. How would such a strategy have worked out for an investment into Warner Bros Discovery Inc (NASD: WBD)? Today, we examine the outcome of a five year investment into the stock back in 2018.

Start date: 10/08/2018
$10,000

10/08/2018
  $3,055

10/05/2023
End date: 10/05/2023
Start price/share: $33.01
End price/share: $10.09
Starting shares: 302.94
Ending shares: 302.94
Dividends reinvested/share: $0.00
Total return: -69.43%
Average annual return: -21.13%
Starting investment: $10,000.00
Ending investment: $3,055.79

As we can see, the five year investment result worked out poorly, with an annualized rate of return of -21.13%. This would have turned a $10K investment made 5 years ago into $3,055.79 today (as of 10/05/2023). On a total return basis, that’s a result of -69.43% (something to think about: how might WBD shares perform over the next 5 years?). [These numbers were computed with the Dividend Channel DRIP Returns Calculator.]

More investment wisdom to ponder:
“Though tempting, trying to time the market is a loser’s game.” — Christopher Davis